


A Dangerous Courtship

by jane_x80



Series: An Officer and a Gentleman (The Regency AU) [1]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Regency, Birthday Party, Case Fic, Crossdressing, Dancing, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Georgian Period, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Character Death, Murder Mystery, Regency Romance, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-10-06 01:47:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 55,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20498864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jane_x80/pseuds/jane_x80
Summary: Retired Royal Marine Leroy Jethro Gibbs moves to his long dead wife's old home in Surrey when he is named the guardian of his newly orphaned ward, Miss Abigail Sciuto, to give her the peace of the countryside while she mourns the loss of her father. There, he meets an intriguing young man along with a whole new cast of characters. But if he thought moving to the countryside would give him peace and quiet, he learns more about the captivating young man who turns out to be one of his neighbors, a Mr Anthony Paddington, an extremely rare male Omega and apparently quite the trouble magnet. When an alpha dies at Anthony's birthday ball, things begin to escalate and Gibbs must work together with Anthony to stop the killings.This is a Regency AU where there is obviously no NCIS, everything takes place in England during the Georgian period, and everything is as proper as I can make it, other than the murders (although don't sic Jane Austen on me). The Major Character Death is NOT Tony or Gibbs, I promise. 😉





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jesco0307](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jesco0307/gifts).

> This story is for [jesco0307](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jesco0307) who has been someone who's been there for me, beta-ing my stories and helping to make them better, and she is also one of the first friends I made here on ao3. Thank you jesco, I know that your birthday was quite a few months ago, but this is for you. Happy Very Belated Birthday! 😁🎂🍾🥂 I hope I hit a few of your likes from our discussion of a story for your birthday. I know the story didn't benefit from your delicate touch, but I can't in good conscience make you work for your present, so hopefully it's OK (So everyone, all errors are definitely my own in this one!). 😁
> 
> I'd like to also thank [rose_malmaison](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rose_malmaison) for the amazing artwork. Thank you so much for creating this gorgeous work for such a drastically different from NCIS AU, you are the absolute best! The banner is just fabulous. I can't get over how cool it is!
> 
> This is to fulfill [Challenge 26 - Regency AU](https://whatif-au.livejournal.com/69644.html) from the [What If AU](https://whatif-au.livejournal.com/) community over on LiveJournal, and it also fulfills Prompt 4 (Write an AU where your characters meet for the first time in an exotic/unusual locale) of the [5 Prompts Challenge - March 2019](https://ncis-discuss.livejournal.com/190879.html) also on LJ.
> 
> This is a complete AU set in Regency times, and if there are any Jane Austen fans out there, please don't boo me too badly. I tried as hard as I could to keep the language (hopefully) consistent with the times, so that means I DID NOT SWEAR in over 45k+ words. It was a seriously difficult thing for me to do because apparently I am a potty mouth when I write. So, like Jane Austen's works, there is nothing explicit or smutty, and even though this is in the A/B/O universe, no person of this class of society would ever discuss things like heats and the like in public and certainly never in mixed company! So there is no sex, no nudity, no heat discussions. Everything is mostly proper and aboveboard.
> 
> However I have rated the story Mature because well, there's a biiiiit of a body count? I know Jane Austen would never do that, but this is an NCIS AU so there is still a bit of a case fic. I promise I don't kill either Tony or Gibbs in this story. But there are deaths, and I think one of them can be classified as a Major Character Death, but most of the others are minor character deaths. Some do die in canon but I'm not tagging it as canon since this is a complete AU. This isn't a sad story, so I hope you guys don't get too upset about the tags and the death(s).
> 
> Music wise, my liege, the [QueeneoftheDeer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueeneoftheDeer) recommended several pieces of work to help stimulate the writing of a Regency AU and the muse absolutely grabbed on to one of her recs, Sting's [Until](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJzyMZIBuo8), which I listened to quite a bit while writing parts of this story. Also, I was obsessed with [Schubert's String Quintet in C, D. 956 Op Posth 163](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0GOv95iDf0) performed here by the Emerson Quartet and David Finckel, and listened to this amazing quintet (with two cellos! who can resist it?) a lot while I wrote and edited the story.
> 
> The story is complete (over 45k words) with twelve chapters, a prologue and an epilogue, so it'll take a few days before it is all posted. I hope you'll all hang out with me for this process!

**Prologue**

[](https://i.imgur.com/BcfUncj.jpg)

Once upon a time, there lived a young woman called Elizabeth, the cosseted Omega daughter of Lord and Lady Paddington. She was a spoiled young thing, quite beautiful and quite, quite rich. When she was nineteen, she fell in love with the handsome and charming Conte Antonio DiNozzo of Italy. Well. At least, this was what he claimed he was. An Italian Count. However, no matter how much Lord Paddington tried to look into the man’s history, reaching out to his business contacts everywhere on the Continent, he could not find any proof that there was any such person as a Conte DiNozzo from any region in Italy.

But Lady Elizabeth was not to be denied. She married Conte DiNozzo, despite the fact that neither of her parents approved of the union, too consumed by his skill at dancing and clever and amusing conversation to care about the fact that the man was not an Alpha, and was without fortune or skill or even a good family to stand behind him. Lord Paddington, unable to bear the thought of his only daughter falling into ruin or living the life of a pauper, given the profligate way that the Conte seemed to be spending her money, bestowed upon her and her distasteful husband Houghton Hall, an estate in Surrey and servants which he maintained control of, as was within his legal right as her official Alpha.

Despite the fact that Elizabeth had married and should legally no longer be Lord Paddington’s responsibility, she had married a Beta, which meant that since she was an Omega, Lord Paddington retained all of his rights as her legal Alpha, which was, in hindsight, the one advantageous thing about Elizabeth’s marriage to Conte DiNozzo. DiNozzo was not an Alpha, and therefore would not have any claim on Elizabeth’s fortune were she to perish. Her inheritance would be passed on to her children, if she bore sons, or entailed away to Lord Paddington’s other sons and their male descendants, should she only bear DiNozzo children of the female persuasion as was the law of the time. And it was a well known fact that an Omega would not find it easy to conceive with a Beta. Omegas, a very small minority of the general population, seemed only to be incredibly fecund if mated to an Alpha, regardless of the sex of either party, but had trouble conceiving if partnered with a Beta. It was a source of dismay for Elizabeth’s mother, for she would have so enjoyed having many grandchildren to spoil.

And so it went, that Elizabeth and her husband lived their lives carelessly and wastefully, always expecting Lord Paddington to reimburse all of DiNozzo’s debts, paying off all of his creditors. But as the years passed, Elizabeth began to regret her rash decision to marry such an unknown, albeit much too charming quantity. DiNozzo had many faults, gambling being one of them. He was also known in town to be a womanizer, and he drank like a fish. And in order to survive life with such a man, Elizabeth also began to drown her sorrows in the same fashion, opting to reach for the bottle rather than face what her life had become. Having a husband that collected gambling debts and dalliances with loose women, which he did not even bother to hide from her anymore, did not make for a happy marriage, no matter how witty and charming the man was when he was with her.

But lo, after almost ten years of marriage, Elizabeth finally bore DiNozzo a child. A boy who they named Anthony, after his father. He was the light of her life, a beautiful child with her green eyes, her cupid’s bow lips and deep dimples in his plump cheeks, and Conte DiNozzo’s handsome countenance. Elizabeth was certain that he would be quite handsome when he grew up for he was such a beautiful baby. Lord and Lady Paddington welcomed their grandson with open arms and Lord Paddington became even more generous with his daughter, for little Anthony was nothing if not the sweetest child in the world.

Unfortunately for Conte DiNozzo, old Lord Paddington died when Anthony was three years old, and Elizabeth’s fortune came to be held in trust for her by her Alpha brother, Clive. The new Lord Paddington – Clive – was much less tolerant of DiNozzo’s habits. He let DiNozzo know that they were to live within a set stipend, the one that had originally been bequeathed to Elizabeth, an extravagant sum of five thousand per annum. And if they incurred expenses above that, DiNozzo was to be responsible for the balance. He also let it be known all throughout London that the Paddington family would no longer cover any of DiNozzo’s gambling debts, nor would they tolerate DiNozzo’s depraved habits of debauchery. As such, DiNozzo lost his access to gaming and women, since Clive was not the late Lord Paddington, one who was used to indulging in Elizabeth’s every whim. Clive was not only stricter, he was also much more influential, given the fact that he worked for the King.

This resulted in DiNozzo actually living in the estate with Elizabeth and their son Anthony much more than before. He could no longer maintain his lavish house and lifestyle in town with such a _meager_ budget, especially not when the household expenses were strictly controlled by Clive and considered part of their annual expenses to be subtracted from their annual income. Clive was ensuring that DiNozzo would be unable to funnel funds away from the maintenance of Elizabeth’s estates and the family for his own unsavory purposes. So DiNozzo had to live at home more, because as much as DiNozzo enjoyed spending money, he would much prefer it not be money that he would actually have to work for. As such, he spent more time in Surrey with his family, even though he chafed at the restrictions placed upon him and had no interest in the raising of his own child.

During these years, of course, Anthony was quite unaware of all of these things. He was quite, quite young, and he was blossoming into a clever and happy thing, enchanting all who knew him. He learned to read when he was very young, and was terribly clever with sums and numbers, despite his young age. Clive, a widowed and childless man, habitually took him hunting and fishing, and was personally responsible for the tutor hired to educate his nephew, Elizabeth’s only child. Anthony was bright and eager to please and soaked up everything his tutor and Clive exposed him to, and was always ready for more. He was also desperate to please his mother, learning to play the piano and to sing, as one of the few ways that he could make her smile, becoming quite skilled even though boys were not usually encouraged to pursue music with any degree of seriousness.

In the spring before Anthony’s eighth birthday, his poor, long-suffering mother finally left this world, after a few years of ill health brought on by a naturally poor constitution and, many say, a broken heart. And to DiNozzo’s ire, as he was only a Beta, his wife’s fortune was bequeathed to their son, and Anthony’s inheritance stayed in Clive’s control as he was still their legal Alpha. In fact, Clive descended upon little Anthony’s estate, packed all of the child’s things and took him and his tutor away to live with him in the ancestral Paddington estate in neighboring Derbyshire. Clive would continue to maintain the estate and servants, and DiNozzo was of course welcome to live there, but since Anthony was to be Clive’s ward, DiNozzo would no longer be receiving the generous annual income that was to be for Anthony. He would only receive a much reduced stipend, which Clive made clear, was only being granted to him for being Anthony’s biological father. But he was to live within his means, or he was to make his own living. On this Clive was firm. And as he was the Paddington Alpha, the one in complete control of the purse, DiNozzo could not argue or he would be left homeless and destitute, since the estate now belonged to Anthony instead of to him.

~~~~~~~~~~~

_Twelve Years Later_

Anthony sat in the carriage, back straightening drastically, when he saw that they were passing through Ashford. He peeped out the window, catching sight of the different shops that still seemed somewhat familiar to him. He remembered walking to town with his tutor Doctor Mallard, so long ago, when his mother had still been alive. Nigh on a decade he had happily lived with Clive in the Paddington estates in Derbyshire, during which time he had never visited the house now bequeathed to him after his mother’s death. And after his years at Oxford and his eventful and his exciting Grand Tour of the Continent, he felt as if he had had enough of experiencing the world and educating himself. It was time now for him to return to Houghton Hall and learn about his roots.

Houghton Hall was his birthplace and his birthright. Even though he had been given other properties since he reached his majority, he longed to return to where he had spent the beginning of his childhood. Despite the fact that he knew that his father was a reprobate, and still lived in Houghton Hall with his new stepmother, Anthony was determined to reclaim the house that his mother had raised him in. The house where he still had good memories of her. The house in which his mother’s piano presumably still sat.

Clive had not been pleased at this turn of events, wishing for him to return to his rooms in the Paddington estate in Derbyshire. Anthony knew that he would miss the man he thought of as his father greatly, but he also knew that it was time for him to live his life and learn what was out there for him and just for him, away from Clive’s immediate influence and protection. Even during his time on the Continent, his old tutor and chaperon Doctor Mallard accompanied him, as well as several trusted servants. For his years at Oxford, of course Clive had sent Mallard with him, as his chaperon. And Anthony had lived in a house that Clive had paid for and staffed. He had been surrounded by people who loved his uncle and were loyal to him, and because Anthony was Clive’s favorite, their love had extended to him as well. They had been just as overprotective of Anthony as Clive, and now that he was twenty years old, he wanted to return to his hometown and perhaps stretch his wings out a little, to see if he could truly become more independent. It would be good to be home, even if it was for a few years, while he settled into his new role. He knew that he would find his ultimate place in life eventually, although he hoped that his future did involve living in Houghton Hall and making newer and happier memories there.

“Are you quite all right, my dear boy?” Doctor Mallard asked him in his soft Scottish brogue, blue eyes twinkling behind his wire-rimmed spectacles.

“I confess, I might be a little bit nervous, dear Ducky,” Anthony gave him a small smile, calling him by the childhood nickname that he had bestowed upon his tutor when he had been but a boy of four, learning that Mallards were a type of duck. It was a name that he no longer used very often, only when he was tired or in need of emotional comfort.

“I am sure that all will be well,” Ducky patted his hand gently. “You are the rightful owner of Houghton Hall. It is a beautiful house, and I remember the grounds being extensive as well as quite picturesque.”

“It is also where my mother is buried,” Anthony sighed.

“I understand how you feel,” Ducky smiled sadly at him, having recently lost his own mother.

“I fear the Count will not be pleased at my return,” Anthony frowned. “I know that Father, that Lord Paddington was not happy with the match my mother made, and that although he has never said it to me, I feel that he blames the Count for my good mother’s death. And based on what I have heard him do since then, I cannot fault my Alpha for this perception. But what am I to do about it? The Count is still, technically, my father. Surely I must love and respect him? Is it not his right to claim such, given that he is my sire?”

“Do not fret so,” Ducky clucked at him, soothingly. “Your Alpha has striven to raise you with morals and good judgment. You may make your own conclusions about the Count, and you may or may not agree with Lord Paddington’s opinion of him. But you have been raised to use your mind, to think logically and practically, rather than to just blunder through life believing everything you are told, and doing _only_ that which is expected of you. Has not Lord Paddington himself told you this?”

Anthony nodded.

“What has your Alpha taught you about respect?” Ducky continued.

“Respect is something to be earned,” Anthony quoted the man.

“Lord Paddington, your Alpha, is wise,” Ducky nodded sagely. “You must make your own decisions as to whether the Count is someone you wish to bestow respect upon. You must see for yourself, and decide if someone who believes that everything and everyone is there to cater to his every whim is someone worthy of earning your respect, no matter that he is your relation. You must endeavor to remain true to yourself, and to view everything and everyone with the same openness and scrutiny that you have done all your life, to take in the good and the bad of everything, and to make your own decisions, as Lord Paddington taught you.”

“And you, too, Doctor Mallard,” Anthony smiled at him. “You have both taught me well.”

“It was my duty and my honor, my dear boy,” Ducky smiled back, his cheeks turning a little red at the compliment.

Anthony blew out a long breath and nodded. “I am not who they think I should be,” he said softly.

“Dash them all for any preconceptions or prejudices that they might have for someone of your status,” Ducky was serious now. “You must be who you are. Lord Paddington has seen to it that you were well educated and well trained in everything he could think of that would be necessary for a gentleman of your standing.”

“But I am not quite the proper gentleman, though, am I?” Anthony pouted.

“And when have you or your good Alpha allowed that to be an obstacle in your way?”

Anthony broke into a grin. “You are absolutely correct, Ducky. That has never stopped me before,” he nodded. “I must be who I am, and I must do what I can to be a good person and a good man.”

“That is all anyone can wish for, my darling child.”

“Ducky,” Anthony rolled his eyes. “I am hardly still a child!”

“I have been your tutor and your constant companion for sixteen years, seen you through almost all of your life,” Ducky chuckled. “You will always be a child to me. You will always be my sweet little boy, Anthony.”

Anthony sighed and shook his head. This was an argument they had been having ever since he had gained his majority. And even though he wanted to stand on his own two feet, he could not help but be glad that Ducky would be there with him to help him navigate a new life as the new master of Houghton Hall. As much as he wanted to grow up, he was glad that Clive would not let him live anywhere without his chaperon. Even if it was back to a house where his supposed father lived.

Not long after they were past Ashford, the grounds became more and more familiar to both Anthony and Doctor Mallard. They pointed out different things that they remembered, until the carriage and four drove up to a large mansion, one of stark and imposing beauty. Anthony recognized it from afar – it was Houghton Hall. It looked exactly as it had on the day long ago that Uncle Clive had taken him to Derbyshire. He sighed, letting out a breath that he hadn’t known he was holding.

He was home.

When the carriage stopped and the door opened, Ducky was helped out first. Then Anthony took the footman’s hand and stepped out of the carriage, breathing in deeply the smells of his old home. It was a distant memory, and he could see himself as a child running down the great steps to throw himself into his mother’s arms.

Anthony looked around, seeing that the entire household had turned out to receive him. He saw a man, several inches shorter than he was, whose face was older than he remembered. Gazing upon the man, he could see the resemblance to his own visage. He had not seen the Count ever since Clive had taken him away. The man had never even tried to visit him in Derbyshire. It was strange to be so much taller than him now.

“Sir,” he greeted the Conte DiNozzo, bending his knees in a dainty and graceful curtsey despite the fact that he was clad in pants, a muslin shirt, a waistcoat, a jacket and a top hat. “You remember my tutor, Doctor Donald Mallard.”

DiNozzo gave them both a curt nod, and Anthony felt a vague sense of disappointment. He could barely remember DiNozzo being fully present. He had not been someone who actively participated in Anthony’s life as a child. And now that he was all grown up, apparently the Count was still as uninterested in him as he ever was.

The redheaded woman elbowed him, and after he gave her a quick glare, he sniffed and cleared his throat, giving out a long and pained sigh. “May I present, my wife, the Contessa Jennifer DiNozzo.”

Anthony and his stepmother curtsied to each other. Anthony observed his stepmother, noting her red hair, artfully arranged under her bonnet. She was beautiful in her own right, although Anthony doubted the sincerity of the innocent and guileless air that she seemed to project. He also got the distinct impression that the Beta was sizing him up as well. He endeavored to keep his expression pleasant and open, giving her the same flighty and flirtatious smile he tended to give to Alphas who tried to sidle too close to him without his permission, the one that usually ended up with the Alpha falling over themselves to procure a drink for him while he conveniently disappeared. As far as he could tell, Mrs DiNozzo seemed to take him at face value, which suited him perfectly.

It was interesting for Anthony to note that despite the years since his mother’s death, and the fact that this Mrs DiNozzo was, to his knowledge, perhaps the third or fourth wife – DiNozzo Senior had not been able to keep a wife for any extended period of time – he did not seem to have any half brothers or half sisters. He had somewhat hoped that he would no longer be an only child but apparently it was not to be. He looked upon the servants, lined up and wearing their uniforms, looking clean and starched and proper, and he smiled at them all, especially when the housekeeper, Mrs Osgood curtsied and gave him a warm smile.

“Welcome home, young Master,” she told him.

“Thank you,” Anthony’s smile was genuine when he remembered dandling on her knee in the kitchen when he was very young. Mrs Osgood had been more of a mother to him in so many ways than his own poor dead mother. He remembered now how she always smelled like biscuits and tea, and how she always had a smile and a cuddle for him whenever he snuck into the kitchen. “It is good to be home.”

“Let me show you to your rooms,” Mrs DiNozzo gestured, frowning at Mrs Osgood. “You must be tired.”

Not wanting to make a fuss, Anthony agreed and followed his stepmother up the great staircase and into his childhood home, walking past all the lined up servants, in a reverse of the macabre exit he had had after his mother’s death. He remembered the entire household wearing black, himself included even though he had not yet reached his eighth birthday. All of them were mourning the death of his mother. And Clive, his anger at his sister’s untimely death palpable and directed mostly at the Conte DiNozzo, his emotions vibrating through the house being the powerful Alpha that he was, affecting everyone in the house, as he practically frog marched Anthony and Doctor Mallard into his carriage, sweeping them away from Houghton Hall without any warning. The servants had all been lined up to say their farewells to him back then. And now, here they were, lined up again, to greet him upon his return, all these years later.

Mrs DiNozzo was chattering on about this and that, something about how they had graciously given up the master quarters and readied them for him, and honestly, Anthony could not find the strength to listen. He had no doubt that Clive had stepped in and told the Count that Anthony was to inhabit the master suite of rooms given that he was master of Houghton Hall. But that all felt distant and unimportant right now.

The house still had that faint smell of peaches that he had always associated with his mother. He could smell her scent, still buried in the walls and the carpeting and the drapes. This had been _her_ house, and it was why he had wanted to come back home. He ignored his stepmother and merely nodded and made polite noises, even though he had absolutely no idea what she was saying. He gave Ducky a quick look, catching the reassuring nod that Ducky gave him, before going up the stairs and embracing whatever the future brought him here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, in case I didn't make it clear in the story, Mrs DiNozzo is Jenny Shepard. 😁
> 
> And isn't the artwork fabulous???
> 
> More tomorrow!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a larger version of the banner! Thanks again to rose_malmaison for the amazing period artwork! And seriously, the clip in Tony's hair is just too precious. ❤️
> 
> This chapter, especially fulfills Prompt 4 (Write an AU where your characters meet for the first time in an exotic/unusual locale) of the [5 Prompts Challenge - March 2019](https://ncis-discuss.livejournal.com/190879.html) over on LJ.

[](https://i.imgur.com/0igc0iy.jpg)

_Five Years Later_

Royal Marine Lieutenant Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Retired) was on a quiet walk around the countryside surrounding his new home in an effort to get to know the area. Technically it was Shannon’s old home, and he had had it closed up ever since Shannon and his baby – a girl, he’d been told – had both died during childbirth. This had happened years ago, while Gibbs had been at sea doing his duty to his King, and he had thrown himself into his career when he realized that he had nothing left to live for. Despite himself, he had managed to survive these many years without his lady wife and their child. The hole that his dead baby daughter had left inside him, even though he had never even gotten a chance to hold her, was one that he thought would never be filled. A vast emptiness had opened within him with their loss, but he had soldiered on. Finally, though, he was being forced to retire from the Royal Marines. His old friend, Harold Sciuto, had died and left his seventeen year old Beta daughter in his care. And so, since Gibbs was now the guardian of a young girl, he retired from the Marines and decided to return to Surrey, to the house that Shannon had grown up in.

It had been a lot for him, coming back to the house that Shannon had loved. He was lucky that she had not actually died in this house, for if she had, he could not imagine ever returning to it, not for any reason. The Fieldings, Shannon’s parents, had neither been wealthy, nor had they been poor. The house was perfectly sized for his little household, and his majordomo Leon Vance had seen to it that it had been cared for since Shannon’s death. But it had still hurt him to come back, to see the letters carved into the windowsill, SGF, that Shannon had once confessed to him she had etched with a penknife when she was scarce but ten years old.

Gibbs had very little left of Shannon but his memories, and now that he had seen it, he treasured that windowsill perhaps more than was wise. A reminder of the wife that he had dearly loved. He kept trying not to imagine a blue eyed, long haired little girl running around the house. It would do no good to keep picturing the daughter that had never had a chance to grow up. That way lay madness. Something he was quite aware of. And now that he had a ward, he no longer had the luxury of indulging in his own sorrows.

Poor Abigail was sorrowful enough without adding any of his old hurts. She was now an orphan, her grief still fresh. She was the youngest, and her older brother and her father had indulged her. Now that Harold was dead, Abigail was dressed all in black, in her mourning clothes, but she had also taken it a step further, darkening her hair to match her clothing. Her eyes were rimmed with kohl, not to make her more beautiful, but to make her look even sadder, and her lips, too, had been darkened as well. She was as pale as a ghost, her porcelain skin contrasting drastically with the blackness of her garments and the adornments she had made to her body. But Gibbs did not have the heart to curb her. For he understood the pain of loss, the unending sorrow that came with it. Cloaking herself in the colors of mourning was a much healthier way of coping, compared to the many times that Gibbs had seriously contemplated taking his own life with his flintlock. In the end he had not pulled the trigger because he did not wish to disgrace the memory of his late wife, nor did he want to abandon his men in the Marines. He had chosen to live, but he still lived with the pain of loss every single day.

Luckily Abigail’s naturally vibrant personality did seem to be returning to her, now that they were ensconced in Surrey and away from all of the sad reminders of what she had lost. And although Gibbs did still miss Shannon after all these years, helping Abigail cope with her loss was helping him deal with his own tragedies and slowly heal from them. Besides, Abigail’s giggles were like sunshine and when she was happy, it made Gibbs happy as well. It was nice to have someone he considered to be family living with him again. Having Abigail with him made things better and he no longer desperately missed being away on His Majesty’s service.

Although, being forced to live in close quarters with people who were not his men was exactly the reason why he now took a long walk every afternoon, without fail. He needed to put some space between himself and anyone else, and he needed to have time to think his own thoughts and enjoy the quiet, without any interruptions. It was also a good way for him to learn the lay of the land. He was too much of a Marine to not scout out his area of encampment and to find out all the traps and pitfalls of the area, as well as work out an escape route, given that he did have a ward to protect these days. He had been too long in the Marines. He could not escape that military mindset, unable to lower his guard and just breathe, enjoy being home in England again. And once he was satisfied that he knew the area well enough on foot, he would begin riding his horse for the same purpose, widening his scope to the environs of greater Ashford and not just his house.

He walked on, enjoying the lovely sunny day and the fresh air. There was no urgency to be anywhere or to fulfill a mission, yet he still walked briskly. He was walking on a path by a small lake, breathing deeply, and wondering if he should pop over to meet the neighbor on whose grounds this lake was, to see if perhaps they would not mind him fishing there. He had so far resisted the urge, because according to Vance, Houghton Hall was occupied by a most unpleasant, undecorous, and quite possibly not a genuine Italian Count and his latest wife. Apparently, the man had lost a wife to the afterlife, and then married and divorced several times more. It was unheard of, for a man of his position. Vance also mentioned that it was whispered that the Count was living off of his late wife’s inheritance, and that he had a child, an Omega, who was reputed to be quite unconventional.

Not that Gibbs was one to listen to gossip, but it did seem that at least the story of the Count still living off of his late Omega wife’s fortune seemed to be true. He had heard different accounts of the Omega child, who was either beloved by the townsfolk, or hated by them. As someone who cared not a whit about anybody’s opinion of him, Gibbs found himself wondering what sort of child could elicit such violent and opposite reactions out of people.

So, because of these stories, Gibbs did not rush to introduce himself to his neighbor. And as the Count had not done his neighborly duty to welcome him to Ashford, Gibbs felt no desire to make the first move. He had a young ward to care for, and he did not need her virtue tarnished by associating with a man of such ill repute.

It was a surprise then when he heard a loud splash. He caught only a pair of shapely and muscled ankles and feet disappearing into the water. There was a long moment where Gibbs thought that perhaps he ought to jump in to rescue this person, before he saw a body break the surface, gulp in air, and begin swimming strongly. He could see flashes of golden skin gleaming in the sunlight as the figure swiftly cut across the lake and then returned, arms stroking the water smoothly and gracefully. Gibbs could not help but admire the form of the swimming man – it was no clumsy dog paddle. He was a strong swimmer, cutting through the water like a fish, barely splashing as he kicked his legs and sliced his arms through the water, turning his head to breathe every so often.

Gibbs found himself standing by a pile of clothing crumpled on the ground, along with knee high boots of rather good quality, if muddy and well worn. Next to it was a pail filled with fresh caught and cleaned trout and a fishing rod. No doubt the man had been fishing and then decided to go for a swim. Gibbs was just about to walk on when the figure stood up and began wading towards him, water streaming down his face and his body. His white muslin shirt was sticking to him, translucent against his skin, and Gibbs found himself unable to look away when the man’s pink nipples were clearly outlined. He pushed his hair out of his face, and Gibbs was transfixed, watching the man rub water out of his eyes.

The man was one of the most beautiful creatures he had ever seen. He had brown hair that was shorter than was fashionable, his shoulders were broad and his hips narrow. And his face. He had a face that could have been carved out of marble.

“Oh, hello!” the man blinked at him in surprise, lips stretching into a tentative grin.

“Hello,” Gibbs nodded at him.

To his surprise, the man bent his knees and bobbed into a graceful curtsey. “I do apologize for the impropriety,” the man smiled at him, and Gibbs’ heart stuttered. The man’s cheeks creased into deep dimples.

“Oh no, I did not mean to interrupt your, uh, swim?” Gibbs tried not to stutter.

“I was fishing and then I thought, it looked so inviting, so I just decided to take a quick swim,” the man laughed. “Oh, do help yourself to some of those trout. I caught them this afternoon and was going to take them to the big house. Mrs Osgood always knows who is in need and I do like to fish. I might have been a little excessive and caught more than I should have today,” he looked a little guilty.

“Oh, I’m sure I don’t want to get you in trouble,” Gibbs told him, thinking he must be someone who worked in the big house – Houghton Hall.

“Ah, well, thank you for your concern for me but I must confess,” the man’s green eyes twinkled as he pulled his boots on. “I fear that trouble will find me, regardless. I am used to it. You need not fear for me.”

“I shan’t trouble you for fish today, but perhaps I will pay a visit to Houghton Hall to introduce myself. Do you think the Count will mind if I ask him about fishing in this lake?”

The man gave him a long look. “I am sure the master of the house would not begrudge a new neighbor the use of his lake,” he grinned. He finished pulling his boots on, put the rest of his discarded clothes on his arm, picked up the bucket of fish and shouldered the rod before he gave a piercing whistle. Two large dogs came bounding over, barking happily at him, wagging their tails, even though Gibbs could see that they were both eyeing Gibbs warily. “Come on then,” he clicked to the dogs, and they immediately and obediently took their positions at his heels. “Perhaps I shall see you around, Mr…?”

“Gibbs,” Gibbs provided. “Lieutenant Gibbs.”

“Ah! Of course. Newly moved in to the old Fielding place?” he smiled.

“Aye,” Gibbs nodded.

“Excellent! Then I am sure I will see you around, Lieutenant Gibbs. Ashford is a small town. Good afternoon,” the man bobbed another graceful curtsey, the behavior so incongruous with his manner of dress, before he and his dogs set off, quickly disappearing into the trees where there wasn’t a path to follow before Gibbs could even ask him his name.

He knew his way around well enough not to stick to the trails, Gibb thought. And the dogs were well trained. Gibbs wondered who the man was. Gibbs was used to being able to read most people, but this man – who was still quite young, no more than five and twenty at most – had been difficult to pin down. He did not smell like a nondescript Beta for Gibbs could still smell the hint of strawberries and cut grass, as well as fish, although that might just be the freshly caught fish he was smelling. And he was certainly tall enough and broad enough to be an Alpha. The dogs were purebred, one a French poodle and the other a wolfhound of some sort. Hunting dogs, both of them. If they belonged to the man, then he was not just a gentleman but one of means. French poodles were especially difficult to procure here in England. His clothes were of good quality but well worn, so they could be old. Perhaps his family was currently down at heel? The curtseying made Gibbs think that this man had spent his boyhood in some kind of servitude. Many Beta ladies had pretty young pages of both sexes attend to their needs and the instinct to curtsey could have been instilled in him from then.

Gibbs wondered if he was an Alpha, one of the ones that were perhaps not as dominant as Gibbs himself was. And when he presented, perhaps that was the end of his service to the ladies? In all likelihood though, he was just a tall and well built Beta, despite the enticing scent trail he’d left. But the confidence with which he interacted with Gibbs, and the breeding in his manners and speech made it difficult to tell where the man resided in the social spectrum.

Gibbs tried not to think of the man’s plump, shapely lips, and the dimples that magically appeared in his cheeks when he smiled, nor the greenness of the man’s eyes. And he certainly did not allow himself to dwell on the pebbled pink nipples that were clearly outlined under the man’s ruffled muslin shirt, or the way the man’s soaking pants were molded to his highly muscled and pert derriere as he was walking away. No. Gibbs was here to raise his ward in the relative silence and calm of the Surrey countryside, so Abigail would be able to lick her wounds and learn to live with the loss of her father. He was not here to look at Betas (or Alphas?), no matter how beautiful in form they might be.

When he returned home, Abigail was picking flowers in the garden and humming to herself, and her governess Miss Todd was with her. It warmed his heart to hear Abigail humming again, even though she was still in her mourning clothes. Abby rushed to greet him with a hug and a kiss on his cheek, and Gibbs gave Miss Todd a curt nod before he went into the house, still trying not to think of the unknown man so confidently walking out of the lake. Majestic, even though he was dripping wet.

At dinner, Miss Todd and Abigail were discussing the Omega child of the Italian Count, their next door neighbor.

“I am told that the Omega is quite beautiful,” Abigail’s eyes were wide with curiosity. Omegas were very rare. Gibbs had met one many years ago in his youth. Most of society was made up of Betas, with the upper echelon made up of Alphas. Omegas were rare and considered precious, and any family that had any Omega daughters were immediately sought after, as Omegas were the perfect mate for an Alpha. But since Omegas were so rare, only the truly upper-crust Alphas would ever be lucky enough to even meet one. Gibbs remembered the time when he and his men had had to rescue an Omega from the clutches of an Omega-slavery ring, and had decimated the ring and freed their captives. Being an unmated Alpha, Gibbs had stayed away, leaving the care of the freed Omegas to his Betas. Except for the one that he’d met and rescued, and she had been exquisite. A lovelier creature he had never met, not even as compared to his own beloved Shannon.

“All Omegas are supposed to be beautiful,” Gibbs murmured.

“Be that as it may,” Miss Todd added, “unfortunately, she does not behave with the kind of propriety that is necessary of an Omega of her position. I do not wish for you to be unduly influenced, dear Abigail.”

Abby dimpled at her. “Oh, Miss Todd. I am a right proper young lady! You have made quite sure of that,” she teased.

Miss Todd gave a haughty sniff before she took another bite.

“But Gibbs, surely we can visit Miss Paddington?” Abby turned those puppy dog eyes to Gibbs. “She is one of the few unmarried ladies close to my age and I would so dearly love to meet an Omega! Perhaps she would be my friend?”

“I have heard tell that she is older than you by more than a handful of years,” Miss Todd told Abby sternly.

“Please, Gibbs?” Abby ignored her governess, keeping her eyes on Gibbs.

“And I do not understand why her uncle, Lord Paddington, allowed her to return here unchaperoned, to live with that terrible Italian Count,” Miss Todd shook her head.

“She is of age,” Abby protested. “And although she is still under the protection of her Alpha uncle, why should she not return to Houghton Hall? No matter how terrible the Count might be, is he not still her father? Should she still not wish to know him, since she was raised by Lord Paddington away from Houghton Hall? Surely she must have missed him terribly while she was being raised by her lord Uncle?”

“And why on earth the previous Lord Paddington allowed his Omega daughter to marry an Italian Count, an upstart Beta at that, I do not understand,” Miss Todd continued, lips pressed together in a straight line, conveying her disapproval, ignoring Abby’s words.

Gibbs sighed. He understood why they were so captivated by the idea of this Omega living next door given the rarity of Omegas, but he disliked this level of gossip. He grunted disapprovingly, and Abby gave him a concerned look, and seeing his countenance, sighed.

“But please, Gibbs, could we not visit with her?” Abby asked again. “It is quiet here. Perhaps she, too, will be glad of company?”

Gibbs sighed again. Of course, Abby would miss company. She had been such a vibrant young lady, with many friends and a busy social life back in town. It was a sign of her recovery that she would wish to have people around her again as she had been too buried in her grief to go on with her life prior to this.

“Very well,” he told her. “We will call on Count DiNozzo this week.”

“Thank you, thank you, you are indeed the best guardian to ever guard a ward, Gibbs!” Abby was effusive in her praises.

Gibbs rolled her eyes, although his lips quirked up in a small grin. He was fond of Abigail and ever since her smiles and happy words became rare, it made him happy to indulge and allow her some moments of happiness.

“Well, then I must insist that I accompany you, Abigail, to ensure that you are properly chaperoned, even if Miss Paddington is not,” Miss Todd’s lips tightened even further.

“Oh, but of course, for who else will see to it that my virtue remains intact in such an atrocious den of iniquity?” Abby smiled as she teased her.

Gibbs found himself wondering if he would see the man he had encountered this morning when they visited the Count. And he realized that he was looking forward to this, even if he had no wish to deal extensively with what sounded to be an odious Beta, still leeching off of his dead Omega wife’s fortune. It would not be Gibbs’ first time speaking to such a one but the hope of a glimpse of the same man he had met this afternoon would be worth an hour spent in unpleasant company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK I confess, I watched the BBC Pride & Prejudice mini series with Colin Firth as Mr Darcy, and yes, I swoon every time I watch Colin Firth, all wet from his swim in the lake, encountering Elizabeth Bennett. So I needed to have Tony walk out of a lake all wet, too. 😁
> 
> Also, I know that in canon Gibbs is a Gunnery Sergeant and not an officer (he works for a living, dammit!). But for that time period, a gentleman like Gibbs would have been a commissioned officer so I made him a Lieutenant. And the Royal Marines are a real thing so I had to make Gibbs a [Royal Marine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Marines).
> 
> More tomorrow!


	3. Chapter 3

[](https://i.imgur.com/BcfUncj.jpg)

The next day, after his morning constitutional, Gibbs, Abigail and Miss Todd got into their carriage and set off for Houghton Hall. It was an imposing yet beautiful structure. When they alighted, the footman greeted them and led them into the house after Gibbs introduced himself and his companions.

The inside of Houghton Hall was as grand as its exterior, with lush carpeting, drapes and tapestries. The furnishings were old and well maintained, everything polished and gleaming and sparklingly clean. Gibbs didn’t know why this surprised him. Perhaps he had been too judgmental of the Count?

“Would Miss Paddington be able to see us today, do you think?” Abby asked the footman.

The man turned and gave her a surprised look. “_Miss_ Paddington?” he asked.

“Why yes. Count DiNozzo’s Omega child?” Abigail clarified.

The footman broke into a smile. “Of course, I shall see if the Paddington Omega is receiving visitors today,” he said softly, turning his head and walking onwards.

Gibbs frowned at that. That had been deliberately oblique. He did not understand what was going on, but they continued walking through the hallways. As Gibbs was walking by, one of the elegant and polished doors opened and a maid slipped out with an empty tray. Inside, he saw the same young man he had encountered the previous day, leaning back in a chair, boot-shod feet plunked on top of the massive desk he was sitting behind, a frown marring his brow as he flipped through some papers. The maid shut the door quietly, curtseyed to them, and scurried away before he could ask her anything, and then they were being led into a massive drawing room.

A man was standing, as if posed, by the window while a woman sat on a plush sofa.

“Lieutenant Gibbs, Miss Sciuto and Miss Todd,” the footman announced, before he melted back into the hallway.

The man turned, one eyebrow raised, and Gibbs had to suppress an eyeroll. He was quite grandly dressed, even though he was only sitting around in his own drawing room, and did not seem to be doing anything special. Gibbs had not sent ahead to alert them of their arrival, so it was as if the man had dressed up ready to face the ton, even though they were living quietly in Surrey.

The woman was embroidering, and she stood and curtseyed, while both Abigail and Miss Todd curtseyed back.

“We are your new neighbors!” Abby announced brightly.

“The old Fielding place?” the man asked. His speech was lightly accented although it was very faint. Gibbs could not help but wonder if in fact the man’s accent was genuine.

“Yes,” Gibbs answered.

“Why Lieutenant Gibbs, how kind of you to call on us,” the woman stood, her lips curving into what looked to be a predatory smile. “I am the Contessa DiNozzo, and this is my husband the Conte.”

“Miss Sciuto,” Gibbs nodded at his ward, “and her governess, Miss Todd.” He hated making introductions.

“Please do take a seat,” Mrs DiNozzo invited, and they did, while DiNozzo came and stood behind his wife.

“Oh, but I should so like to meet your daughter,” Abby smiled, speaking earnestly. “It is so much quieter here than in town, and it would be lovely to have some company.”

“My daughter?” Mrs DiNozzo frowned. “I do not have a daughter.”

“I thought…?” Abby frowned, looking to Gibbs for confirmation.

They all looked at each other for an uncomfortable moment until the door swung open.

“Harris says we have visitors…” and the handsome, green eyed man trooped in, a book tucked under his arm, and he stopped to stare at Gibbs, Abby and Miss Todd for a moment. “Oh, hello,” he smiled. Unlike the Conte, he was dressed only in a frilly muslin shirt and pants, his cravat hanging loose around his collar, revealing a golden expanse of neck and a bit of his chest. Gibbs’ sensitive Alpha nose caught the faint scent of ripe strawberries again, and, no, it wasn’t cut grass but the smell of a meadow after the rain. “How unexpected,” the newcomer remarked.

“May I present my _son_, Mr Anthony Paddington,” Conte DiNozzo gestured to the man. “Junior, these are Lieutenant Gibbs, Miss Sciuto and Miss Todd.”

“Pleased, I’m sure,” Anthony curtseyed to the ladies, as they curtseyed to him.

“Anthony, why do you insist on being so uncouth,” Mrs DiNozzo lamented. “At least have your cravat tied.”

“I wasn’t expecting company,” Anthony responded patiently. “I shall withdraw back to the study where my indecency shall not alarm anyone.”

“Wait,” Abby called out. “I thought that... I had been told that the Conte had an Omega child? I wanted to be introduced to her. Perhaps, be friends with her.”

“_Ahhhhh_,” Anthony breathed out, understanding going over his face. “I see.”

“Our son Anthony is the Omega,” Mrs DiNozzo claimed proudly.

“At your service,” the young man bobbed another curtsey before he grinned insouciantly.

Abby and Miss Todd exchanged a look before they turned to stare at the lovely young man. For, as Gibbs had previously noted, he was a handsome specimen, with big green eyes and the kind of lips that made a man think impolite thoughts. It was quite a shock to all of them.

The Omega, who was the jewel of Lord Paddington’s family, was not a woman. He was a man, and a remarkably beautiful man. In fact, Gibbs had already met him. It was no wonder that Gibbs had been unable to identify his presentation nor position yesterday, because male Omegas were extremely, _extremely_ rare. There were reported to be but a handful of them in the entire world. And here was one of them, and he was Gibbs’ neighbor.

A servant walked in, and Anthony gave her a wide smile when she walked up to him, handing him an envelope.

“Thank you, Mrs Osgood,” Anthony told her softly. “Would you be so kind as to send in some tea, and perhaps you could ask Ducky to join us?”

“Of course, young Master,” the woman smiled back. She patted Anthony’s hand in a maternal fashion when he thanked her prettily, before she left.

“Who is that from?” Mrs DiNozzo asked her stepson sharply, when Anthony plopped down into an armchair and opened the envelope.

“Hmm?” he skimmed through the letter, snorted with disgust, and set the letter under his book. “Nobody,” he told her.

“It is improper for you to keep such secrets from your parents,” Mrs DiNozzo complained.

“Is it now?” he murmured, although his eyes were now on the visitors. “What brings you three to Ashford?” he asked.

“I felt that my ward, Miss Sciuto would benefit from some time away from town,” Gibbs answered.

Anthony’s green eyes took in her mourning clothes, and the modifications that she had made to her appearance and immediately looked sympathetic. “Ashford is certainly a quiet place, where one can sit and reflect,” he agreed. “It is a good place to come when one is in need of solace.”

“Is that why you returned to Houghton Hall?” Abby, with her imprudent and unguarded mouth asked.

“It is a place where I can remember my late mother,” Anthony said, his smile turning a little sad. “This was her home. And mine.”

A newcomer made their way into the room, and Gibbs couldn’t help but startle for he recognized him. Abby and Miss Todd stood to curtsey and Anthony’s smile grew happier. “This is Doctor…” Anthony began.

“Doctor Mallard!” Gibbs stood, clasping hands with the elderly gentleman.

“Why, Lieutenant Gibbs!” Doctor Mallard laughed, shaking his hand enthusiastically. “My goodness. Leroy Jethro Gibbs! How is that head of yours?”

“Still in one piece, Doc,” Gibbs grinned, knocking at his temple. “You did a marvelous job putting it back together.”

“And you are quite fine?”

“I am, indeed,” Gibbs assured the doctor. He had suffered a grave head injury during one of his missions, soon after his wife and daughter’s death, and Doctor Mallard had been the surgeon working on him and saving his life. He had had some trouble in the beginning with some memory issues, but he had regained all of his faculties and had even returned back to his beloved Royal Marines, hale and hearty.

“Introductions are unnecessary, I see,” Anthony raised an eyebrow at them in amusement.

“Oh, my dear Anthony, this is Lieutenant Gibbs. He was once a patient of mine,” Doctor Mallard informed the young man. “I see you have met my young friend. I have been Anthony’s tutor and his chaperon now, for many years.”

“I see,” Gibbs nodded, still smiling at Doctor Mallard. “Doctor Mallard, may I present my ward Miss Abigail Sciuto, and her governess Miss Todd.”

“Hello,” Doctor Mallard greeted them cordially. He took a seat in an armchair next to the sofa Anthony Paddington had claimed for himself. “I do hope Mrs Osgood is bringing tea.”

“Of course, Ducky,” Anthony grinned. “And hopefully other treats.”

They were making small talk including the DiNozzos, and Gibbs saw that Anthony passed Doctor Mallard the note he had received, and Gibbs saw the elderly gentleman roll his eyes and sigh to himself, before he handed the missive back. Anthony casually slipped it into his book, without interrupting his conversation with Abigail and his stepmother.

Mrs DiNozzo noticed the movement, however. “Anthony. You must tell us what is contained in that letter,” her tone was polite, but Gibbs could tell that it was not a request.

“Must I?” Anthony arched an eyebrow at her. The gleam in his eye was a challenge. The redhead subsided, although she did not look at all happy.

“Oh, cara mia,” DiNozzo put a hand on his wife’s shoulder. “It must surely be one of Junior’s many suitors.”

Doctor Mallard converted a chuckle into a cough and Gibbs could see the venomous glare Anthony gave his parents.

“I don’t have any suitors, sir,” he bit out. “I do not need a suitor, nor do I want any attention from Alphas who don’t give a jot about me other than my designation and my rarity.”

“You must not ignore all of these Alphas, Anthony,” Mrs DiNozzo cajoled him.

“Must I not?” Anthony rolled his eyes. “I believe you will watch me as I do just that.”

“Just because one broke your heart…” Mrs DiNozzo tried again.

“We do not bring such matters up in good company,” Doctor Mallard gave the redhead a glare, his gaze turning protective when he turned back to the Omega.

“Mr Paddington, are you saying that you do not wish to get married?” Abigail asked him.

Anthony sighed. “I am saying that I am lucky enough to be in a position to have a choice in the matter of when and with whom I marry, or even _if_ I wish to be married at all. I see no reason to entertain the attentions of anyone if I am not currently looking for a husband or a wife,” he explained. “So many of us do not have a choice and must marry to please our families, or for financial security, or to produce an heir, or to just not be alone. I am fortunate enough to not have any of these constraints.”

“But you are an Omega!” Miss Todd exclaimed. “Surely you need the protection of an Alpha?”

“I am a _male_ Omega,” Anthony replied. “We are apparently so rare, that there are no real laws governing how we are to be dispositioned, with regard to marriage. And as to inheritance, we are regarded as male by law, and my Omega designation only means that my Uncle Clive continues to be my legal Alpha, holding my assets in trust. But I am afforded all other privileges of my sex, rather than my designation.” He winked at Mrs DiNozzo, and Gibbs wondered if he wanted to rub that fact in her face. “So I am in _no_ hurry to find myself stuck in an unsuitable marriage, to an Alpha who has absolutely no sense. And who only married me because I am a rare breed, not because they understand me, and love me.”

“Oh, you are a romantic, Mr Paddington!” Abigail sighed.

“You will be too old to bear children soon,” Mrs DiNozzo lamented. “You are already almost five and twenty.”

Doctor Mallard snorted at that. “There is no medical evidence that proves that an Omega, whether male or female, or any Beta woman for that matter, is ‘too old’ to bear children at age twenty five,” he interrupted.

“And who says I want to bear some knothead’s child, anyway,” Anthony shrugged, grinning when both Mrs DiNozzo and Miss Todd’s faces turned red at his vulgar words.

“Anthony!” Doctor Mallard shook his head. “Not all Alphas are knotheads.”

“You are right, of course, Ducky,” Anthony grinned at him.

“Although, the majority of them that are of your age do tend to behave as if they are,” Mallard mused. “We certainly saw our share of those types when we were at Oxford.”

“We did, didn’t we?” Anthony laughed and clapped his hands at that. “And it was not a pretty sight.”

“Perhaps you are wise to wait, my boy,” Doctor Mallard finished.

Gibbs had to chuckle at Doctor Mallard and Anthony. They had been friends for a long time, and he could tell that they were fond of each other.

“You need an Alpha and soon,” Mrs DiNozzo told him sternly. “Your uncle will not approve of a spinsterhood for his beloved Omega nephew.”

“I advise you to take it up with my uncle, then,” Anthony told her, smiling sweetly. “For he has already told me that I am of age, of sound mind, and I should live my life the way I wish to. And _I am_,” his tone was a tad smug by then.

“Hear, hear,” Doctor Mallard cheered, when the door opened and two servants brought in trays of food and drink.

Gibbs watched as the servants set out the tea and plates of cake and biscuits, and both of them curtseyed to Anthony, waiting for him to dismiss them instead of his stepmother. He had to think through what Anthony had said. Although he was an Omega, he was afforded the privileges of being male, so therefore legally _he_ was the Master of Houghton Hall. Not his Beta father, nor his Beta stepmother. If Anthony’s alpha uncle trusted him to run his own affairs, then this was an independent man that Gibbs was facing, and one of not inconsequential wealth and prestige, even discounting the fact of how rare male Omegas were.

“Anthony, you must send Miss Sciuto and Lieutenant Gibbs an invitation to your upcoming birthday ball,” Mrs DiNozzo suggested as she ate a piece of cake.

“Oh, are you having a ball?” Abigail’s eyes were wide.

“Nothing much really,” Anthony wrinkled his nose. “But my Uncle Clive seems to think that one must celebrate their quarter century marker.”

“Sweet boy, you know your Alpha would take any excuse to visit you and throw you a party,” Doctor Mallard patted his hand.

“I had meant to go up to Derbyshire to Paddington for my birthday,” Anthony pouted. “Have a quiet time hunting and fishing with him.”

“Well, instead he is coming here,” Mallard said with satisfaction. “And Mrs DiNozzo is right, we must invite our new neighbors to your ball.”

“I do not know…” Abigail hesitated. “I am still in mourning…”

“Oh, then you must definitely attend,” Anthony told her. “You can sit in the corner with me, and protect me from the other people that have been invited. Neither of us needs to dance or be merry. And we will get to see all the preposterous Alphas who show up thinking they are everything life has to offer me, and we shall say nasty things about them behind their backs. Or perhaps even right to their faces, if the occasion demands it.”

Abby laughed at that, although Miss Todd scowled at Anthony.

The rest of the visit passed without further incident, although Gibbs could not help but recall Anthony’s lovely green eyes, his wide smile, his sweet attentiveness towards Abigail, and his understanding of her recent loss. He knew that he would not be able to rid himself of Anthony’s faint scent, and he would forever think of the man whenever he was faced with a strawberry. Anthony was impressive. He was most definitely his own man, refusing to allow his father or his stepmother to bully him, and he seemed to be quite openly fond of his Alpha uncle.

Gibbs had never had the pleasure of meeting Lord Clive Paddington, but he had been a Marine for a long time. The Paddington name was well known in military circles. Lord Paddington was one of those who did not have an official rank in any known branch of His Majesty’s armed forces, but he had His Majesty’s ear, and he had eyes and ears everywhere. His was the name whispered as the man responsible for all kinds of intelligence and top secret information that helped people like Gibbs and the Royal Marines run successful missions. It was difficult to reconcile that fearsome reputation with this indulgent uncle of Anthony’s, who allowed him free reign and gave him his independence despite his Omega designation, and who seemed to care about Anthony as a person rather than an asset. If Paddington had wanted Anthony married to someone for political gain – and who would turn down the offer of marriage to such a beautiful and extremely rare male Omega? – then surely Anthony would have already been married by now. No. Paddington must love his nephew and seemed to treat him as a son and not just as an Omega. Unfortunately, it had felt to Gibbs as if the Count and his wife seemed more interested in what Anthony could bring them, if he were to make a good match, rather than have an interest in who he was as a person.

But, this was all speculation, and Gibbs knew better than to indulge in this sort of idle gossip, even if he was only thinking it to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There'll be more tomorrow! 😁


	4. Chapter 4

[](https://i.imgur.com/0igc0iy.jpg)

The next day, when Gibbs was expanding his afternoon constitutional even further afield, still on foot, he encountered Anthony and Doctor Mallard striding down a path going in the opposite direction that he was, this time accompanied by two large French poodles.

“Ah, Lieutenant Gibbs, good afternoon!” Doctor Mallard smiled at him. Anthony grinned and bobbed a curtsey at him, and now Gibbs understood that he had perhaps been raised to curtsey, given his designation, and he seemed quite comfortable continuing with that practice despite the fact that he was not, in the eyes of the law, a woman.

The dogs were barking and wagging their clipped tails and Anthony made a motion with his hand and they quieted down. “_Assis_,” he told the dogs, and they obediently sat.

“Good afternoon Doctor Mallard, Mr Paddington,” Gibbs nodded to them both, although he knew that he could hardly take his eyes off of the Omega who looked quite fetching in tight fawn colored pantaloons, the ever present knee high boots, a brown waistcoat and a dark brown great coat. He even had his collar starched and cravat tied properly that day. Gibbs knew that he should look away, but the man was so lovely he found he had not the strength to resist gazing upon him while he had the chance.

“Lovely day for a walk, isn’t it?” Mallard remarked.

“It is,” Gibbs agreed.

There was a moment of awkward silence until Doctor Mallard began talking about the health benefits of walking, especially in the countryside where the air was clean and pure. How it would increase a man’s lung capacity, this kind of exercise. Gibbs had forgotten this about Mallard, his penchant for breaking into a story or two, somewhat tangential to what was going on.

After a few moments of Doctor Mallard rambling, they excused themselves, and walked off, Anthony ordering the dogs to “_au pied_” him. To stay at his heels. Interesting that he had French hunting dogs that were so French that he had to give them commands in their native language.

Gibbs found it charming, for some reason. It was obvious that the dogs were loved and well cared for, and it was a measure of a man’s character, how he treated those in his responsibility, servants and dogs included. The Houghton Hall housekeeper, for instance, had been more than fond of Anthony and he had treated her with more respect than most in his position normally would. And that warmed Gibbs’ heart, for some reason. He resumed his walk, wondering where it was Anthony and Doctor Mallard were going, as they seemed to be walking with some urgency.

When he returned home, Abigail waved the invitation to Anthony Paddington’s birthday ball at him, while she wrung her hands anxiously, still worried that perhaps she should not go as she was still in mourning. Miss Todd seemed to be in favor of Abigail declining the invitation, but Gibbs remembered Abby’s smiles and unrestrained laughter when conversing with Anthony and he felt that he did not want to discourage this return of Abigail’s good humor. Besides, it had been obvious that for whatever reason, Miss Todd did not approve of Anthony Paddington. Gibbs was still trying to understand whether she disapproved of him because he had the audacity to be a _male_ Omega, or because he refused to be a typical Omega and pushed the boundaries of what was supposed to be acceptable behavior, or if perhaps, he was just too attractive and she needed to keep him at arm’s length to protect her own heart. It was possibly also a combination of all of these reasons that might cause Miss Todd to disapprove. It did not help that Anthony, being a male Omega, would be able to choose to follow his heart and be the master of his own future where so many, like Miss Todd, did not have the freedom to do so. And because he was a male Omega, he also had the option of choosing a male or a female Alpha to be his mate. He could, of course, choose to marry a Beta, although with how his own mother’s marriage to a Beta had turned out, Gibbs doubted that Anthony would choose the same path. Based on what the Omega had said, it would seem he would rather never marry than subject himself to the kind of fate that his mother had endured.

But Alpha or Beta, Anthony Paddington would be able to pick whether he wanted a husband or a wife, with no issue. Gibbs had noticed that despite society’s acceptance of non male-female pairings, especially when an Alpha and an Omega were involved, Miss Todd seemed to have retained some of the old fashioned values that should have died out fifty or more years ago, where men were only to wed women. It had been a long time since this was enforced, where same sex marriages were outlawed, even if the Alpha and Omega were reputed to be ‘true mates’. Perhaps this was another reason for Miss Todd to disapprove of their Omega neighbor?

However, Gibbs did not disapprove of Anthony Paddington. In fact, it was quite the opposite. He held the man in high regard for standing his ground and choosing to be his own man. He had to respect a man who chose his own fate, and picked and chose through the different societal norms to come up with something acceptable to his own self, rather than to embrace being completely male or completely female, opting to honor his gender as well as his designation. It signaled to Gibbs a confidence in his own sense of self that many, even twice his age, often lacked. Gibbs felt he had to credit this to how Lord Paddington must have brought him up. Anthony was a man used to thinking for himself, and making decisions for himself. He was not a spoiled, coddled Omega, no matter that the Count and his wife tried to portray him as such by intimating that he was perhaps nursing a broken heart. Gibbs hoped that no one had broken the Omega’s heart, and he could not imagine what Alpha would be stupid enough to do such a thing.

So when Abigail worried about propriety and whether she should not attend, Gibbs was quick to assure her that they would accept the invitation and there would be no guilt on her part. That her father would not wish for her to be sad forever, and she was a young girl and should live a happy life, and go to the ball to which she had been invited. Gibbs managed to give Miss Todd a warning glare when the woman opened her mouth to object, and gave her a satisfied nod when she subsided.

Besides, Gibbs would himself like to see Anthony Paddington again. Given that he was an Omega, it would be improper of Gibbs, as an Alpha, to call on him unexpectedly, unless he were to profess his interest in the man. But after Anthony’s diatribe against Alphas from the other day, Gibbs did not want to impose on him. Besides, he was supposed to be a confirmed widower. He had never looked at another woman since Shannon died, and wondered if perhaps he should feel guilty now about his new interest in an Omega. But strangely, he felt no guilt. Perhaps it was different now somehow, because it had been so long since Shannon had died, and since he had allowed himself to grieve and heal while he was helping Abigail go through her own mourning. It was not that he loved Shannon any less, but that Anthony seemed to warm a different part of him up inside. And he could not deny that the thought of Anthony’s wide smile and huge green eyes did make his heart go pitter-pat a little faster.

Gibbs spent the two weeks until Anthony Paddington’s birthday ball failing to not think about him constantly, especially since Abigail and Miss Todd kept bringing little bits of gossip home with them. Now that it was known that they had met the Paddington Omega, the townsfolk seemed more open to talking to them about him. Gibbs had to admire the kind of loyalty that the Ashford townsfolk had towards the young man, and it contrasted starkly with the unflattering accounts that he heard about Count DiNozzo and his wife.

“Did you know that Mr Paddington spent several years at Oxford, Gibbs?” Abby told him at tea one afternoon.

Gibbs raised an eyebrow and grunted approvingly.

“It seems rather uncouth of the Paddingtons to allow him such opportunity to lose himself in less than desirable society, while supposedly gaining an education,” Miss Todd sniffed. “After all, he is an Omega.”

“Oh, Miss Todd, you know that Doctor Mallard was his chaperon the whole time,” Abby smiled at her governess. “He is a right, proper Omega, Miss Todd. You must allow that he is a man and not a woman, and we are always judged differently. But yet I was assured that there was nary a whisper of any kind of improper behavior. His virtue and reputation are both quite intact.”

A derisive snort came from Miss Todd but Abigail refused to believe anything bad about her new neighbor.

A different day brought reports of the kindness of the Paddington Omega, both as a landowner to the tenants living on his land, and as an Omega, caring for those who were poor and sick, as a friend and a neighbor.

“I heard that Mr Paddington went to see old Mrs Brooks today,” Abigail told him. “Even though she is quite ill, and many have stayed away, afraid that they may catch her sickness.”

“Hmm?” Gibbs made a noise inviting more.

“Yes, Gibbs. Mr Paddington brought Doctor Mallard to examine her, and even bought her medicine, which I suppose must be quite expensive. He also brought her a newly knitted blanket, which I’m told he knitted himself!” Abby’s eyes were wide. “And he brought her soup and bread and cheese. He personally changed her beddings and even fed her the soup, Gibbs! He fed her soup with his own hands! Mrs Brooks is very much on the mend now, after Mr Paddington’s and Doctor Mallard’s help.”

Gibbs gave her an approving grunt. It sounded as if Anthony cared for his tenants, and his neighbors.

“I do hope he will not spread diseases around town after being is such close proximity to someone so ill,” Miss Todd wrinkled her nose.

“Miss Todd! Do not be so unkind,” Abigail pouted. “Mr Paddington was helping the sick. That is good works that we should _all_ emulate, should we not?” Abby turned to Gibbs, entreating him to agree with her.

“Of course, my dear,” Gibbs agreed.

“Perhaps he is buying their loyalty?” Miss Todd wondered.

“_Miss Todd_!” Abby frowned. “I will not hear such things about such a kind man. Do take that back.”

“I apologize, dear Abigail,” Miss Todd sighed. “I just find myself wondering what Mr Paddington’s motives might be.”

“Perhaps his motives are just that he is a good person who cares for his neighbors?” Abby suggested.

“Perhaps,” Miss Todd said, but it was clear from her tone of voice that she was not convinced.

Abby sighed and changed the subject.

On another day, it was with wide eyed awe that Abigail told Gibbs, “Did you know, that Mr Paddington has two incredibly loyal French poodles? The kind that only French royalty are supposed to have?”

Gibbs made a questioning noise as he took a sip of his tea.

“Yes, Gibbs! I am serious. He has two French poodles who I’m told are very obedient, and they are very good hunting dogs! Fierce and fearless when on the hunt. Everyone in town told us so.”

Miss Todd made a sound of disbelief.

“I have met these dogs,” Gibbs told them.

“You have? How wonderful! Are they fierce? Were they obedient? Are they beautiful? I am told that he was given the pair when they were puppies, as a gift, when he caught the fancy of a wealthy Frenchman when he was sojourning in Paris!” Abigail continued breathlessly.

“Why would Mr Paddington ever be in _Paris_?” Miss Todd asked snidely.

“Why, for his Grand Tour of the Continent, of course!” Abigail told her.

“A Grand Tour? He is an _Omega_!” Miss Todd objected. “Omegas do not go on Grand Tours. Omegas are to be protected and kept safe! Not paraded about the Continent!”

“Doctor Mallard went with him, and I’m sure he did not let it be known that Mr Paddington is such a rare commodity as to be a male Omega,” Abigail shook his head. “After all, when we met him, we did not know he was an Omega until Mrs DiNozzo told us this fact. How would others know of his designation unless he made it known? Also, Mr Paddington is a man. Do not forget this, dear Miss Todd,” Abigail dimpled at her. “He may be an Omega, but he can move freely like a man does. Oh, how I do envy him that! It seems as if all we women do is wait for things to happen to us, instead of making things happen for ourselves. No matter if we are Beta or Omega.”

Gibbs patted her hand soothingly.

“I am so lucky that you are so kind to me, Gibbs,” Abigail’s eyes filled with tears. “Even after my father died, and I do miss him so, so terribly, he has provided well for me and my brother. And now, even though he is no longer here to protect me, he has entrusted my care to such a wonderful guardian. Gibbs, I am such a lucky girl to have you and Miss Todd, and I am not forced to live in the poor house or rushed into a marriage to one not of my choice.”

“There, there, Abs,” Gibbs squeezed her hand, calling her by the nickname he had given her when she was a child. “We will not let anything untoward happen to you, my dear.” Abigail sniffled and wiped her eyes with her handkerchief, turning her hand and squeezing Gibbs’ fingers in return.

On a different day, much closer to the day of the ball, Abby returned home for tea with even more news.

“Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs,” she came running in with Miss Todd in tow. “I have heard that all the rooms in the inns in Ashford, all the way to Guildford, and practically all of Surrey have been booked!” she exclaimed. “All packed with Alphas gathered here from London and even further away. They have all come to court and woo Mr Paddington at his birthday ball! Just as he had predicted!”

Fat lot of good it would do them, Gibbs thought, if Anthony was determined not to choose anyone and embark on a frivolous marriage.

“It is highly improper,” Miss Todd complained.

“How can it be improper if this is a party that his Alpha wishes to throw for him, and that Mr Paddington himself does not wish to have?” Abigail sighed with disappointment. “You must think more positive thoughts about Mr Paddington, Miss Todd. The more I hear about him, the more I am convinced that he is a good man.”

“You are not falling in love with him, are you?” Miss Todd asked in concern.

“Of _course_ not!” Abigail rolled her eyes. “I just feel a certain affinity towards him, because like me, he is free to choose who to marry. It is the kind of independence that not many of us are lucky to have. I understand what he’s saying, Miss Todd. I want to fall in love with someone who loves me for who I am, too. I do not wish to marry just because it is expected of me, or it is necessary for my own survival. I am one of the lucky ones, and Mr Paddington has helped me see the truth of this.”

Miss Todd sighed heavily at that.

“Besides, he is funny and charming, but I know my place,” Abigail grinned at her. “I am merely a Beta. He is born to an illustrious family, and he is not just an Omega, but one of the rare male Omegas in the world. He is destined to be mated to a wonderful Alpha. I just _know_ it! He is merely waiting for the right one. Someone who will love and cherish him for who he is, as he deserves. As we all deserve.”

Gibbs sighed inwardly. Abigail was a romantic, through and through. He wondered if perhaps he ought to stop her and Miss Todd from reading those awful novels that encouraged this kind of sentiment. But the child had so little now that made her happy, he could not begrudge her her romantic notions. Besides it was not an unpleasant diversion, imagining a happy life with the kind of life partner that Gibbs had once had. And if these days, Gibbs himself sometimes indulged in such fantasies, with the beautiful Anthony Paddington cast in the role of his feisty yet kind Omega, well, then nobody would know, and Gibbs was most certainly not going to tell.

In the last few days prior to the ball, Gibbs caught sight of Anthony Paddington and Doctor Mallard every so often, as they rode their horses, thundering off somewhere together. Anthony rode what looked to be an exotic Arabian horse, where horse and rider moved together with grace and fluidity of motion as if they were one being. The man was a very competent rider, of that there was no doubt. Gibbs wondered if, as with the French poodles, an exotic Arabian Alpha might have gifted the beautiful creature to match the beautiful Omega. It would not surprise him at all if that were true.

But unfortunately, Gibbs had no other excuses to call on Houghton Hall. It would still be improper for him, an unmarried Alpha, to call on an Omega – male or female – without declaring some kind of intent. And Abigail could not make friends with him as she had once intended, since Anthony was a male Omega. Abigail, as a female Beta, could not be left alone with him and she could not therefore befriend him in the manner in which she had wished to. Especially not since Miss Todd expressed such open disapproval of the poor man. So Gibbs and Abigail could only impatiently wait until the day of the ball to see their neighbor again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit of a setup/filler chapter, I know, but I promise the ball will be in the next chapter. And that will have more excitement 😉
> 
> So, until tomorrow! ❤️


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go! Time for the ball!
> 
> The gorgeous artwork is by rose_malmaison. In this chapter I've used the large banner but made it so it will adjust in size to the screen you're using. so if you want to look at the artwork in its full glory, use a large screen to view it and it will adjust to the size of your screen.
> 
> Again, thanks so much to rose for the fabulous artwork!! ❤️

[](https://i.imgur.com/0igc0iy.jpg)

Finally, the day of the ball arrived. Abigail had ensured that her hair was freshly blackened. The kohl around her eyes was quite dark, but she had chosen a lip color that was slightly redder than the black that had been her habit for the last few months. Her dress was dyed black, of course, but it was one of her nicest dresses, and she also wore a black shawl. Despite her mourning colors, she looked happy and excited. Even Miss Todd had put on her finest clothing.

Gibbs ignored Vance’s disapproving looks when he carefully chose his clothes, wanting to look his best for Anthony, despite the fact that there would be many other Alphas there vying for his attention. Not to mention the fact that Gibbs wasn’t actually trying to attract Anthony’s attention. He was merely attending because this party would make Abigail happy. But yet, he could not deny that he was taking extra care in his appearance, and he was looking forward to seeing Anthony again. Close up. Perhaps even have a conversation with the man, since it seemed as if Anthony had been quite busy in the days leading up to his ball. Gibbs had deliberately chosen walking paths where he had encountered Anthony before, but disappointingly, he did not see the man again. He did not understand quite why he seemed to be missing him so much, but he was truly looking forward to seeing Anthony’s eyes crinkling up as he smiled at Gibbs. And at Abigail as well, of course.

Given both Gibbs’ and Abigail’s anxiousness for the ball, they arrived at Houghton Hall somewhat early, before the bulk of the invitees made their appearance. After they were announced, they were greeted by Count DiNozzo, his wife, and Gibbs could not help but stare at the vision that Anthony Paddington presented. For his party, he had worn a gown of a very pale pink, cut low enough to show the smooth golden expanse of his chest, with a simple gold chain and small jeweled locket in the shape of the Greek letter Omega hanging partway down the middle of his exposed chest. He did not have the bosom of a woman, but yet the cut of the garment was quite flattering to his figure. The dress was cinched tight, right under his ribs, flowing loosely down the rest of his body. Gloves that matched his dress came up almost to his elbows and he had a crimson shawl draped over his arms, its ends trailing down his sides. There was no question now that he was an Omega, his short hair adorned with flowers and little jeweled pins, his eyes rimmed with kohl, making them look even larger than usual, and his lips reddened slightly, emphasizing their lusciousness. He wore a perfume that covered his natural scent, and even though this bothered Gibbs somewhat, it also made him happy that Anthony was not sharing his scent, that of sun ripened strawberries and of the meadow after the rain, with so many other eligible Alphas. And that those who had not known him before tonight would not have even a hint of that tantalizing and mouth watering scent.

“Miss Sciuto,” Anthony’s smile was wide and welcoming as he curtseyed. “Lieutenant Gibbs. Miss Todd. How good of you to come.”

“Happy birthday Mr Paddington,” Abigail curtseyed, dimpling at him. “You look wonderful! Your dress becomes you. I brought you a small gift.” She pressed a small box tied with a bright red ribbon into his hand, and Anthony squeezed her hand happily, thanking her.

As they were early, Abigail was able to chat with him for several minutes. Gibbs nodded a greeting to the DiNozzos and to Anthony, but he found himself unable to say too much to the beautiful creature, beyond wishing him many happy returns of the day. He had not felt so awkwardly tongue tied in years, and decided that he should stay silent rather than embarrass himself with any attempts at conversation. But he watched, though, as Anthony smiled and sparkled, making Abigail laugh with his little jokes, and even pulling a smile out of the sour Miss Todd.

Anthony was something to behold, for even though Gibbs had only ever seen him dressed in men’s clothing before, and he did certainly wear pants and shirts very well, he was nothing short of exquisite in the gown that he wore that night. His broad shoulders were on display, and the locket on his chest somehow drew attention to the long, graceful column of his neck, and the jeweled pins in his hair forced Gibbs to keep eyeing the skin from the locket, up his neck, to his hair. He managed to look both feminine as well as masculine, as the short sleeves of the gown revealed his well muscled biceps. The gloves made his long fingers look graceful and feminine, although Gibbs could see the power housed within his muscular form. It was the perfect juxtaposition of the feminine and the masculine, and Gibbs did not know how Anthony had managed to pull that off. All he knew was he liked it. Immensely.

Eventually though, Anthony was called back to his duties of greeting new arrivals. Gibbs stood in the corner of the ballroom, arms crossed, eyeing each new Alpha with disdain as they were announced, watching how Anthony received them, and lip reading their words from all the way across the room. He had never been more thankful that he had developed this skill during his time in the Royal Marines. So many people seemed to have no idea how to speak to Anthony, as if being a male Omega made him somehow perhaps even inhuman. Gibbs was able to witness from afar some of the truly awkward words that Alphas uttered to Anthony. It was no wonder the Omega had not been impressed by them.

It did seem as if all of London’s eligible Alphas had been invited along with others that Gibbs had never heard of. He saw that Abigail and Miss Todd were now huddled with some of the other young ladies of Ashford, all of them except for Abigail dressed in bright colors and no doubt, all of them exchanging stories and gossip about the Alphas that had descended upon Surrey for the occasion of the Paddington Omega’s birthday.

“He is magnificent, is he not?” a quiet voice startled Gibbs.

He turned to see Doctor Mallard holding out a glass of wine, which he took with a grateful nod, before his eyes found their way to Anthony again.

“Our Anthony has grown up marvelously,” Mallard sighed.

“You and Lord Paddington have done a wonderful job raising him,” Gibbs told the man.

“I would like to think so,” Mallard smiled. “But the credit goes to Anthony himself. All his life, he has only done his best to be a good man. That is all that his uncle has ever asked of him.”

Gibbs grunted a response.

“Do you know many of the Alphas who are here?” Mallard asked.

Gibbs shook his head. He had been far too busy doing his duty as a Royal Marine to have paid much attention to the ton.

Mallard made an approving noise. “Most of these are, if you will forgive my bluntness, the kind of twats that Anthony will chew up and spit out.”

Gibbs couldn’t help but grin at him.

“I’ll wager that even though he will dance with every Alpha in attendance at least once, he will reject a second dance from at least three quarters of them, if not more,” Mallard said smugly.

Gibbs raised his eyebrows. “Is that so?”

“Mm… I shall see if Lord Paddington will take that wager when he arrives,” the elderly doctor smiled, his eyes twinkling behind his spectacles.

Gibbs stood with Doctor Mallard, watching Anthony as he slipped through the crowd, greeting people, curtseying and smiling, always seeming to be talking and laughing. He paid attention to the names of some of the Alphas as they were announced and noted the way in which Anthony greeted them all.

Lord Admiral Thomas Morrow and Mrs Morrow. They had to be people Anthony knew well for they received affectionate hugs and cheek kisses from him. Alpha Rene Benoit and his alpha daughter Jeanne Benoit were given curtseys and a long and friendly conversation in fluent French. Anthony’s accent and command of the language seemed to be quite flawless. Lord Trent Kort, an Alpha who was apparently the darling of the ton arrived and Anthony curtseyed deeply, his cheeks flushing attractively when Kort daringly moved forward into Anthony’s personal space and kissed his cheek in greeting. But Gibbs noticed how quickly Anthony stepped out of arm’s length of the man. Anthony was not pleased at this show of uninvited affection and the blush was one of annoyance, not arousal.

He didn’t even realize that he had made a move towards Anthony until he felt Mallard’s hand on his arm. Mallard shook his head.

“Trust him,” he mouthed. “He can take care of himself.”

Gibbs watched, lip reading as Anthony laughed and joked about stabbing a knife in Kort’s eye for his forwardness. It was Kort’s turn to flush with embarrassment now, as those around them tittered at what was supposed to be a joke. He could, however, see that Anthony meant every word that he’d said, and even though he did not know Anthony very well, Gibbs somehow had no doubt that if he had to stab Kort in the eye with a knife, not only would he do it, but he would complete the act with grace and power, and somehow still be found innocent of any wrongdoing. And that made Gibbs’ hands sweat. With longing. Apparently, he would not object to watching Anthony stab an Alpha in the eye.

“Good boy,” Mallard murmured, watching as Kort backed away from the Omega. Stealing a kiss from him had been much too forward behavior, but Anthony had taken him down verbally for it. “Well handled.”

Gibbs had to agree.

One set of names made Mallard stiffen. Alpha Eli David and his alpha daughter Ziva. Spaniards, both of them. Gibbs did not speak Spanish and was not able to lip read the exchange between the three, but he noticed that Anthony’s back was ramrod straight, and his smile did not extend to his eyes. As far as he could tell, Anthony was able to converse in Spanish just as fluently as he had in French, but Gibbs could see the false laughter that the alpha woman Ziva David put on, and the oily smirk on her father’s face. Like the French Alpha father and daughter pair, Gibbs understood that both these Alphas were eligible. Anthony had not been tense when greeting the French pair, but both Mallard and he were both on edge with the arrival of the Spanish Alphas.

“Excuse me,” Mallard murmured, handing Gibbs his glass distractedly, as he bustled away. Gibbs saw that as he made his way through the crowd, Mallard kept his eyes on where Anthony was still smiling graciously, although again, there was no trace of amusement in his eyes.

Gibbs gravitated closer to a couple of the Alphas who were also watching the interaction, his ears perked up.

“Ooooh, can you believe that Ziva David has the audacity to show her face here?” one of them hissed.

“_Scandalous_,” the other breathed. “After how she toyed with his affections last year!”

“And she brought her father as well? As someone to interest that Omega?”

“Fruit from the poisoned tree, bringing the tree.”

“Who would have even _invited_ them? Not Lord Paddington, surely.”

There was a disgusted snort. “Probably those DiNozzos. No doubt the Davids paid them handsomely for this opportunity.”

There was a long pause. “Well, their presence here guarantees that Master Paddington will perhaps be more amenable to one of us, since surely none of us can be as grotesque to him as Miss David and her father?”

“Hear, hear,” there was a clink of glasses, and Gibbs tried not to feel sick to his stomach that these people were looking to profit over what seemed to be an old heartbreak of Anthony’s. It was all he could do not to knock their heads together and call them out. There was no doubt in his mind that he would have no trouble taking care of them and ensuring that they never spoke so callously about anyone, and certainly not Anthony Paddington, ever again.

Anthony’s interactions with the Davids were cut short when music started up and people lined up to dance. Gibbs saw that it was Doctor Mallard who had gotten the musicians to begin, no doubt as a way to distract the crowd and to separate the Davids from Anthony without causing a scene. Gibbs watched as Anthony danced with a slew of people, ranging from the Alphas that had come to court him, as well as the Beta men and ladies of Ashford. He could not help but admire the man’s form and grace as he moved to the music. Gibbs did not know how it was that Anthony knew whether he was to dance the part of the male or the female with his various partners, but it seemed as if he were well versed in both actions. It made him stand out even more when he danced with the female Alpha Jeanne Benoit, as even though he was clad in a gown, just as she was, he took the lead and danced the man’s part and she the woman’s. He was smiling and chatting happily to Mademoiselle Benoit, seeming to have a familiarity with her. He was unable to escape a dance with the Alpha Ziva David, and Gibbs watched as he assumed the woman’s role while she moved with the men. There was a stiffness in Anthony’s movements and an insincere smile on his face, and when the musicians stopped halfway through their dance, Anthony looked relieved.

The footman announced the arrival of Lord Paddington after the music stopped. The crowd parted, everyone opening a path towards Anthony. Ziva David seemed to have enough sense to melt away into the crowd rather than stand with an unhappy Omega as he welcomed his protective Alpha uncle.

[](https://i.imgur.com/ivk5VAD.jpg)

Lord Paddington walked into the ballroom, impeccably dressed for a ball, his expression serious. He was a tall and imposing man, an Alpha’s alpha, as they would say. He was an inch or so taller than Anthony, who must have inherited his height from the Paddington side of the family as Count DiNozzo was several inches shorter than he was. Anthony’s smile was now bright and genuinely happy, and Lord Paddington’s lips turned upwards into a loving smile.

Anthony dropped into a curtsey and remained with his knees bent, head down and angled slightly, baring his neck to his Alpha and a gasp went through the crowd. It was an archaic practice, baring one’s neck to their Alpha, one that not many in society still continued. Watching Anthony baring his long neck only emphasized the fact that he was an Omega giving proper deference to his Alpha.

All eyes were on the pair, and it flashed through Gibbs’ mind the sight of Anthony baring his neck to Gibbs instead of to his uncle, and his cock twitched in his pants at the image. He quickly pushed the thought away, not wanting to gain an erection in public, and focused on what was happening on the ballroom floor.

Lord Paddington nuzzled his nose down his nephew’s neck, scenting him and completing the archaic ceremony. He pulled his glove off and gently rubbed his hand down his nephew’s neck, ensuring that his scent would be the first thing anyone smelled on his nephew, and then he bent and kissed Anthony’s forehead, helping his nephew straighten up. Gibbs could clearly see Lord Paddington address his nephew both as his son and ‘sweetheart’, which made Gibbs ache because even though Count DiNozzo and his wife were cold and calculating towards Anthony, at least his uncle knew who he was and loved him for it. It was no wonder that Anthony would not accept just anyone to wed, because he would surely look for the kind of person that his uncle was. Anthony’s smile was dazzling now. It was clear to everyone present that he was very pleased that his uncle was in attendance.

The music resumed, and Gibbs watched as Anthony sat and talked with Abigail every so often, in between dancing with the various people who invited him to dance. He danced with Lord Paddington, his smiles brilliant, and laughing at whatever it was his uncle said to amuse him. He danced with Doctor Mallard. And he even danced with Count DiNozzo, although he appeared much more guarded than he had when he had been dancing with his uncle and his chaperon.

“You should ask him to dance, Lieutenant Gibbs,” a voice startled Gibbs.

He turned to see Lord Paddington now standing next to him. Few people were ever able to sneak up on him, but of course, this was Lord Paddington, so Gibbs should not be surprised. “My Lord,” he bowed. “How did you know my name?”

The gentleman gave him a sly smile, and Gibbs could suddenly see how much Anthony really took after his uncle. They had the same green eyes, the same dimples in their cheeks, and that same air of wickedness and mischief lighting up their eyes. Gibbs had to remind himself that this was one of the most powerful men in England. Whispers of it in the Royal Marines had been that Lord Paddington’s influence was such that he could topple the King himself, should he deem it necessary.

“Anthony is my son. He is very dear to me, more than just as a nephew,” he said quietly. “Surely you do not think I would leave him here unprotected?”

Gibbs nodded at that. Of course Paddington would not have left Anthony vulnerable in a place with such people as Count DiNozzo and his wife. He was reputed to have eyes everywhere, and most certainly he would do this for someone as precious to him as Anthony was.

“Besides, he wrote to me about you,” Paddington continued.

“He did?” Gibbs had to ask.

“Mmm, seems you might have captured his attention,” Paddington’s eyes were on his nephew who was dancing.

Gibbs turned to stare at the Alpha, shocked into silence. He had only ever formally visited with the Omega once. Why would Anthony have told his uncle about him?

“So few Alphas actually capture his attention,” Paddington continued. “So that makes you someone of interest to me. I know that you have suffered some grave losses in your life. I can understand that.”

Gibbs was reminded that Lord Paddington’s wife and two sons had died in an influenza outbreak many years ago, several years before Anthony’s birth. The Alpha had not remarried, not even to produce an heir.

“But you are yet still full of life,” the man’s green eyes flicked up and down Gibbs. “You have done your duty to the King, and you are now caring for your ward. You have served with honor, with courage and loyalty that I would perhaps even call excessive. I would not object, should you wish to court my son.”

Gibbs’ mouth dropped open.

“You, of all people, know how ephemeral life is. And not to squander a chance at happiness,” Paddington sighed. “I was not fortunate enough to meet anyone that captured my attention after my wife’s death. But I see how you are watching my son. I see that look in your eye. You are yet capable of loving him fully, and I cannot object to that. Tony deserves love and happiness. But he can only be happy with you if you do not intend to squash his personality, and force him to behave in a way that _you_ deem proper.”

“Your son is his own man,” Gibbs stammered. “I could not presume to ask him to behave in any other way than as himself. He is beautiful exactly the way he is. It would be a tragedy to try to change him.”

“Good answer,” the most powerful man in England clapped Gibbs heartily on his back. “Now, do ask Tony to dance. I do not wish to see him pout and be sad at your lack of attention.”

Gibbs stared at the man for a moment longer.

“_Well_? Go on now and ask him to dance,” Paddington urged. “If either of those odious Davids get close to him again, I will not hesitate to shoot them. So for heaven’s sake, do what you can to keep them away as I do not wish to sully Tony’s birthday party by drawing blood in public.”

“Of course, my lord,” Gibbs nodded.

He made his way to the crowd and was able to claim Anthony’s hand for the next dance. He could barely even remember what they bantered about, he was filled with the warmth of Anthony’s fingers clasped with his as they moved to the music, and as he twirled and spun, executing the movements. Anthony was laughing happily, and Gibbs could not help but smile, pleased that he could so amuse the man. The dance was over in what felt like a heartbeat, and when he asked Anthony to dance again, the man flushed with pleasure and nodded, and Gibbs saw his happy smile and bright eyes as they took their positions in line and the music began again.

Gibbs managed to dance with him twice more throughout the course of the evening, and when he stopped to sit with Abigail and Miss Todd, he could see how pleased Abby was that he was actually participating in the events. She chattered happily to him, and he was happy to see a return to Abigail’s normal behavior instead of the sadness that she had been carrying around these long months.

The party was still in full swing, and Gibbs had carefully kept his eyes open for the Davids, as instructed by Lord Paddington. He saw Doctor Mallard interrupt a conversation and lead Anthony away as Ziva David attempted to approach him, and he himself intervened once to ask Anthony to dance before she could. But thankfully, he had not seen the elder David Alpha for some time. Things were going smoothly and even Miss Todd had danced with more than a handful of men, some of them the Alphas that were there to court Anthony. Everything seemed to be going well.

Then there was a loud scream, and Gibbs told Miss Todd and Abigail to stay put as he, Lord Paddington, Doctor Mallard, Anthony and Count DiNozzo ran towards the screams.

There, lying unmoving on the floor of the drawing room, his eyes wide open, was Alpha Eli David.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is posted so late. My Saturday somehow got hectic even though I originally did not have many things planned. Hope you enjoyed the ball, though! Even though it came to a bit of a screaming halt here.
> 
> Another chapter tomorrow! 😁


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's where the murder mystery begins. And don't forget what I put in the summary and the tags.
> 
> Also, I added some characters to the tags because I forgot to put them there when I created the work. Oops! 😁☺️

[](https://i.imgur.com/BcfUncj.jpg)

_There, lying unmoving on the floor of the drawing room, his eyes wide open, was Eli David._

More screaming ensued, and Gibbs watched as Anthony flicked his eyes at the footmen in attendance, and they nodded, ushering the crowd out of the room, while Doctor Mallard knelt and felt for a pulse. He looked up at Lord Paddington and shook his head.

Anthony closed the door and locked it, barring everyone including Count DiNozzo outside of the room, and he went around and drew the drapes over the windows to ensure their privacy.

“What in heaven’s name just happened?” he demanded of Mallard. “Is David dead?”

“Quite dead,” Mallard nodded.

“That’s a twist we did _not_ predict,” Anthony growled out, and that intense rumble from the Omega did something to Gibbs’ dick. He tried not to let his arousal show, because it was definitely not the time or the place to declare his intentions towards the Omega.

“Cause of death?” Paddington asked.

And besides, his overprotective Alpha uncle was right there in the room with them. Gibbs had to tell his libido sternly to subside.

“I see nothing obvious right now, other than the discoloration of the face,” Mallard shrugged. “No signs of a struggle, no bleeding or injuries that I can see.”

Gibbs had to stifle a gasp when Anthony hiked up his skirts and knelt down, sniffing Eli David’s face. “Almonds,” he murmured. “Cyanide?”

“How are you familiar with the signs of cyanide poisoning?” he asked the Omega.

Anthony looked up and gave him the guiltiest of looks. “Ummm… I have a varied and rather… eclectic… range of interests?”

“Anthony?” Mallard held a hand out, clearly requesting something.

Gibbs could not hide the double take or the stab of arousal that went through him when he watched as Anthony pulled his skirt and petticoats up to his knees and loosed the vicious looking blade that had been strapped to the inside of his muscled, yet somehow still shapely thighs, putting it handle first in Mallard’s hand. The doctor then used the blade – which looked to be razor sharp – to cut through David’s cravat and examine his swollen throat. He palpated it a little before he sat back on his heels.

“I shan’t be able to get more out of him until I perform the post mortem,” Mallard declared after a moment.

Anthony pulled a small notebook and a pencil seemingly out of thin air and began sketching and making estimated measurements, and Paddington went about sniffing all the food and drink to find the item that poisoned Eli David. Gibbs rushed over to help him, even though he kept watching Anthony work quickly, carefully peeking around things and under things, trying hard not to disturb the scene too much. Gibbs could tell that these were professionals at work now, and he had to wonder what Anthony’s education must have been like. He hadn’t had any kind of normal civilian reaction to being confronted with a dead body. Hell, he’d sniffed the man’s face to identify the poison, for heaven’s sakes.

After a few minutes, there was a banging at the door and they could all hear Ziva David’s voice calling out to her father in Spanish. Paddington looked at everyone, and Gibbs saw that Anthony had hidden not only the notebook and pencil but also the dangerous looking knife away on his person. When Lord Paddington opened the door and Miss David came running in, Anthony was sobbing in what looked to be fright, into Doctor Mallard’s arms. The doctor transferred the distraught Omega to Gibbs, before taking Miss David’s hand, and Gibbs found himself consoling an armful of crying Omega.

“I am so very sorry, my dear,” Doctor Mallard comforted Ziva David. “But I am afraid that your father is dead.”

“_No_!” Miss David cried out, trying to run to her father.

Doctor Mallard pulled her into an embrace while making soothing noises, keeping her away from the body of her father, and when Gibbs looked down, Anthony’s eyes were filled with tears, and he was hiccupping softly into Gibbs’ shirt, already beginning to wet it with his tears, the picture of an upset Omega with no trace of that professional man who had identified the poison that had presumably killed the Alpha.

“It will be all right, Anthony,” Gibbs pulled him closer, accidentally using his given name and unable to stop himself from rumbling softly to comfort him and letting him bury his face in Gibbs’ chest, not because he doubted Anthony’s ability to act or believed that he needed comfort, but because he liked having the man there. And that was the truth. Gibbs was not going to complain about being able to hold Anthony close and running his hand up and down the man’s back. In fact, it made it even more titillating for him to know that truly, Anthony was not at all upset, and was only crying to hide how he was actually _not_ upset. He was a consummate actor, appearing hysterical and weak when in fact he had weapons hidden about his entirely too shapely body.

“On my birthday!” Anthony sobbed quietly.

“Hush, baby,” Gibbs soothed him, the endearment unintentionally slipping out. Gibbs mentally chastised himself. It was bad enough that he had used Anthony’s first name without having been given permission to do so, but to address him in such a familiar manner as to call him an endearment was unforgivable. Except Anthony did not object, merely burrowed closer to him.

In the meantime, Lord Paddington was speaking with Lord Morrow, and together they announced that the ball was over. Without panicking anyone, they ensured that no one ingested anything else, and that there was an orderly exodus of party guests. Paddington quietly asked Gibbs to stay and help with the investigation, and Gibbs readily agreed. He still had Anthony in his arms as he went to find Abigail and Miss Todd. Anthony was no longer sobbing, but his breaths were still hitched and every so often his eyes would fill again.

“Miss Todd, please take Abigail home,” Gibbs ordered her. “I have been asked to stay on with Lord Paddington and Lord Morrow to help with what’s going on here.”

“But what happened, Gibbs?” Abby’s eyes were wide. “We heard that someone died!”

“Alpha David…” Anthony had to pause to swallow a sob.

“Alpha Eli David is dead,” Gibbs told her. “Please do not gossip about this Abigail. This is serious business.”

“Oh, Mr Paddington, and on your birthday, too!” Abby’s eyes filled with sympathetic tears and she hugged Anthony tightly. “Oh, you poor dear.”

“I shall ensure that Abigail and I get home safely,” Miss Todd said. And even she was not immune to Anthony’s tears. “I hope you will not take this to be any kind of bad tidings, Mr Paddington. I’m sure it was Alpha David’s time.”

Anthony nodded and sniffled bravely, and Gibbs automatically handed him his handkerchief.

Abby hugged him tightly, and bussed a soft kiss on Anthony’s cheek before she did the same to Gibbs. “Do be safe, Gibbs,” she whispered. “And take care of Mr Paddington. He has had a trying evening.”

Gibbs nodded and kissed Abby’s cheek, and he and Anthony watched as the two women were escorted out by one of Houghton Hall’s servants.

“They’ll be fine,” Anthony murmured softly. “I have asked someone to escort them home and they will keep watch over your house all night.”

“Thank you,” Gibbs muttered back. “She is all I have in this world now.”

Gibbs had to let Anthony go when his stepmother pulled him away and sent him to bed. Mrs DiNozzo gave Gibbs a look that seemed to be a combination of both suspicion as well as interest, and it made him very uncomfortable. Even though Gibbs was normally partial to redheaded women – Shannon had been a glorious redhead – he was most definitely not so partial to the Count’s wife giving him heated looks that conveyed her interest in him in an unmistakably sexual manner. This was not the kind of attention he sought. She was not just a married woman, she was also Anthony’s stepmother. And most importantly, she was not Anthony, and unfortunately for him, Anthony had been sent to bed, to recover from the ordeal of an Alpha dropping dead during his ball. Gibbs went to stand with Paddington and Morrow, ignoring Mrs DiNozzo. Count DiNozzo was nowhere to be seen as he had apparently gotten physically ill when he caught a glimpse of Eli David’s body lying in the drawing room.

Paddington also sent Ziva David back to the inn in Ashford with an escort while they sorted everything out. The escort was also to keep watch and report on Miss David’s movements.

Soon enough, the undertaker, who was a pale, young man with round glasses arrived and Doctor Mallard organized the transportation of the body to the funeral parlor.

“What now?” Gibbs asked the two ranking officials.

“Now we go to work,” Morrow said grimly.

Paddington’s men were collecting all the food and beverage to be taken to the funeral parlor where Doctor Mallard would perform the post mortem and begin investigating all the food and drink collected to determine what had been poisoned, and whether or not Eli David had been targeted. Gibbs allowed himself to be herded out a side door with Paddington, Morrow and Mallard, and Paddington turned to Harris, the footman at Houghton Hall, instructed him to lock everything up after them, and they trudged down the garden path. Gibbs assumed that they would be heading towards their carriages or horses.

“Will Balboa be able to dig through the information, my lord?” Doctor Mallard asked Lord Paddington.

Paddington blew out a long breath. “Balboa is somewhere in Greece, I’m afraid,” he shook his head.

“Do you have someone else you can trust with this?” Mallard asked.

Paddington made a face.

“With what, exactly?” Gibbs had to ask.

“With the investigation on who killed Eli David instead of my uncle, since we were expecting an attempt on his life tonight,” Anthony’s voice made Gibbs jump. He turned to see the younger man hurrying to catch up with them, now clad in breeches, boots, a muslin shirt – cravat missing entirely – and a great coat. A pistol was holstered casually at his hip and Gibbs had no doubt that this man knew how to use it. But there were still bejeweled pins in his hair, and kohl around his eyes, and he looked delectable. He was a contrast of masculine and feminine, and he still smelled of the perfume he had had on earlier, and a musky scent of pine and gunpowder that must have been left there from when Lord Paddington scented him. But Gibbs then realized what Anthony had said.

“_What_? Someone is attempting to kill your uncle?” he exclaimed.

“You don’t think I would have had a ball for my stupid twenty fifth birthday if we weren’t trying to capture the idiot red handed attempting to assassinate Lord Paddington, did you?” Anthony grinned at him as he casually took his uncle’s offered arm.

“How did you get here?” Gibbs looked back at the door they had just left.

“I climbed out my window,” Anthony explained.

“Your rooms are on the third floor, Anthony!” Morrow chided him.

“Please, there is ivy growing on the wall. Of course I can climb up and down it to gain access to my rooms without alerting anyone of my movements,” Anthony rolled his eyes before he turned to Gibbs and continued to complain about the ball. “I mean everybody came from London to sleepy old Ashford for this ridiculous ball. It narrowed down our list of suspects, for this assassination attempt, plus it separated the idiotic knotheads who are stupid enough to come here in a desperate attempt to woo me in my own house, and the knotheads who don’t think my face and my fortune are enough to trouble themselves to park their lazy rear ends in Surrey for a couple of days for a chance to woo me.”

“Damned if they did, and damned if they didn’t,” Mallard smiled at Anthony.

“_Do_ tell us how you truly feel about the ball, son,” Paddington patted his arm facetiously. “I implore you, do not hold anything back.”

Anthony smiled up at his uncle. “I don’t need parties, Father,” he said, his tone fond. “I had been looking forward to coming to yours and going hunting with you, Heloise and Abelard for a week as had been our original plan.”

“Those are his dogs,” Doctor Mallard whispered to Gibbs.

“The French poodles?” Gibbs asked.

“The very ones.”

“We can still do that next week, if you like,” Paddington told him. “Bring Schmetterling, too.”

“I will. But we still have work to do here. You were saying that Balboa isn’t available?” Anthony asked his uncle.

“I have him looking into something else.”

“They picked a really good time to try this,” Anthony sighed, rubbing his face and smudging the kohl lining his eyes a little.

“What exactly does this Balboa do?” Gibbs asked.

“Everything,” Paddington boasted. “But mostly he investigates and he has an uncanny knack of finding out things.”

“And he’s Father’s most trusted investigator,” Anthony chimed in.

“Only since my best one retired,” Paddington patted Anthony’s face and smiled wistfully at him.

“Do you not have someone else you can entrust with this?” Morrow asked.

“I do, but loose lips…” Paddington grumbled.

“Rule Four,” Gibbs agreed.

“What is Rule Four?” Anthony asked.

“Oh, I have heard of the infamous Gibbs’ rules,” Paddington chuckled. “Do enlighten us.”

Gibbs tried not to roll his eyes as he gave his explanation. “Rule Four, the best way to keep a secret is to keep it to yourself.”

“And if you can’t?”

“Second best way, tell one other person if you must,” Gibbs continued. “There is no third best.”

“I like it!” Morrow exclaimed.

“And are there other rules like this?” Anthony asked.

“Oh, if I recall, you might have told me one,” Mallard said to Gibbs. “Something about always carrying a knife?”

“I heartily approve of this rule,” Lord Paddington declared.

“Father _always_ carries a knife,” Anthony smiled coyly at Gibbs, and Gibbs couldn’t help but puff up a little when he realized that the Omega was openly flirting with him.

“As do you, Tony,” Paddington patted his nephew’s hand.

“There is a saying about apples and trees, if I recall correctly,” Morrow mused, making Anthony laugh.

“Does the apple’s godfather also count?” Anthony teased Morrow.

“But of course,” Morrow huffed, making Anthony laugh some more.

“Come, we must get to the funeral parlor and begin our work,” Mallard said when they got to the carriage. “It would be useful if Balboa were here. He could sniff around to find out what he can in London while we work in parallel here in Surrey.”

“I might know someone I trust completely who would be able to do what we need for this case,” Gibbs ventured. “He is with my old regiment. They are currently stationed in Devonshire.”

“I can send someone to fetch him tonight, if you will write him a letter and ask him to come posthaste,” Paddington told him, apparently willing to take Gibbs’ word vouching for the trustworthiness of a man, which made Gibbs preen inwardly.

“I will send a letter to excuse him from his regiment,” Morrow added. Of course, Morrow was an Admiral in His Majesty’s Navy and would be able to expedite the issue. And of course, not only was Anthony the adopted son of Lord Paddington, the King’s spymaster, but his godfather was Admiral Morrow of His Majesty’s Navy. Gibbs realized that he was now hobnobbing in nobler company than he had ever imagined he would when he decided to retire to Surrey, of all places.

“Perfect,” Paddington nodded.

When they arrived at the funeral parlor, Gibbs watched as they bustled Anthony in as quickly as they could, not wanting to expose him to the public. Luckily it was already dark and the funeral parlor was a short distance away from Ashford proper, in a quiet and wooded grove, right by the cemetery. The chances of anyone spotting the Omega sneaking into the building were quite low. Gibbs scribbled a note to request that his former right hand man, Mr Timothy McGee to come to Ashford right away as a matter of great urgency and secrecy had come up. Morrow’s note with the official crest of His Majesty’s Navy also accompanied Gibbs’ letter, giving it credence. Gibbs had no doubt that McGee would be there by dawn and that he would ride all night to get to Ashford as soon as the messages were delivered.

He walked into the mortuary area and saw that Anthony and Lord Paddington were transporting Eli David’s body onto a gurney, one of several that the undertaker used for readying the dead for interment. Anthony pulled a knife out of his boot and began cutting the man’s clothes off of him and sliding the clothes into a container for later examination, his movements sure and swift, as if he was used to this task.

“What are we _doing_, Doctor Mallard?” the undertaker asked, stammering nervously and pushing his glasses up his nose.

“Why, Mr Palmer, we are going to perform a post mortem on the decedent, of course. You will assist me, won’t you?” Doctor Mallard asked him, his tone excited.

“Do try not to scar the poor boy, Ducky,” Anthony teased his old mentor.

“But we have Master Paddington here,” Palmer’s eyes were wide and scared. “And, and, his uncle! Lord Paddington is here as well!”

“It’s all right, my boy,” Paddington patted his shoulder gently. “Pretend we are not here, and do whatever Doctor Mallard tells you to do.”

“But Master Paddington is here! Surely we must protect his delicate sensibilities from this sight?” Palmer dropped his voice to a hoarse whisper, as if trying to hide his words from Anthony.

Anthony giggled at that. “I’m afraid it is too late for that sort of protection, Mr Palmer,” he said gravely. “My sensibilities are not so delicate, but I promise I shall endeavor not to be too emotionally scarred by what you are about to do.”

“Are we going to…?” Palmer turned to Mallard.

“Yes, Mr Palmer, we are going to cut this man open and learn what caused his death!” Mallard announced happily.

“There is a man who enjoys his work perhaps a little too much,” Morrow muttered to Gibbs and he was forced to agree.

“Tony, tell us what you saw in the drawing room when we first went in after the screaming began,” Paddington ordered his nephew.

Anthony pulled out some folded pieces of paper from his pocket and handed them to Paddington. “I’ve written down the names of everyone, invitees, their attendants and servants that were in the drawing room when we heard the screams, and below is a section for the people who were outside the drawing room. On the back are the people who were still at the house and looking in to see what was going on when Miss David made us open the door. The next page contains my rough sketches of the scene and measurements that I was able to ascertain in the few minutes that we were alone in the drawing room.”

“Well done,” Paddington took the papers and skimmed through them. “What else do you recall?”

Anthony hummed silently for a moment, taking a moment to ponder the question. “I do not believe I saw Eli David for at least a half hour before he died,” he murmured. “We should interview as many of the witnesses to see if we can trace his movements before his death. I danced with him early on in the evening,” he made a face and a shudder went through him. “He was oily. His eyes were cold, even though his mouth said pretty things.”

“I heard you have a history with Miss David?” Gibbs asked.

“Oh that… yes, well, I was in town for the season last year and she started courting me,” Anthony made a face. “Let’s just say things soured between us.”

“You should have let me shoot her,” Paddington said darkly.

“Nothing happened, Father,” Anthony sighed.

“Still…”

“I had thought that it was the Davids who had been hired to assassinate you,” Anthony hopped up to sit on one of the empty gurneys, swinging his long legs casually, as if it was nothing to him that he was sitting where the undertaker did his work on lifeless bodies. “I thought it was why she tried to get close to me, so they could get close to you.”

“All of our intelligence said so,” Paddington agreed.

“So either it’s not the Davids that are making an attempt on your life,” Gibbs said to Paddington.

“Or they were, and that’s still on, and Eli David’s death is somehow unrelated to the plot to assassinate Father,” Anthony finished.

“We must follow where the evidence takes us,” Gibbs said.

“I really do approve of you, Lieutenant,” Paddington smiled at him. “Let’s get to work.”

For the rest of the night, while Doctor Mallard and young Mr Palmer worked on Eli David, Gibbs, Anthony, Paddington and Lord Morrow worked together, examining the food and drink that had been brought from Houghton Hall. By dawn, they had determined that none of the food that they had examined was contaminated with cyanide, and that Alpha David’s stomach contents showed that the poisonous item was some marzipan. But it was not any of the confections served at the party because Anthony was allergic to marzipan and Mrs Osgood would never have it in the house. It was a mystery where the confection had come from and how Eli David had come to ingest it.

By the time the sun was almost ready to rise, Anthony was on his side on one of Mr Palmer’s gurneys, legs curled up almost to his chest, one arm pillowing his head, the other hand tucked between his thighs, right next to where Doctor Mallard was still carefully working on Eli David, and he spoke soothingly to the dead man as he cut him open and examined every aspect of his body, carrying on a conversation with the dead man as if unaware that he was, in fact, dead. Anthony was facing them, eyes closed, fast asleep, undisturbed by the macabre scene literally in front of his face.

Gibbs could not help but stare at that perfect face, full lips parted, slack jawed in sleep, with jeweled pins askew, but mostly still in his hair. The kohl and lip coloring had been rubbed off during the night and he looked so young and innocent that Gibbs’ heart threatened to beat right out of his heart.

“He was supposed to be done with this business,” Paddington murmured softly to Gibbs. “When he came back here five years ago, I had convinced him to retire.”

“He was one of your operatives?” Gibbs turned to the older man, his eyes wide.

“The best, ever,” he shrugged. “It was never my intention that he become one,” he said slowly.

“But Anthony chose to do it.”

“Even though I objected,” Paddington nodded.

“His time at Oxford?”

“He received a stellar education, and helped foil several plots while he was there,” Paddington answered.

“The Grand Tour?”

“You cannot understand how much His Majesty and the entire kingdom is beholden to my son,” Paddington pursed his lips. “Some of your missions with the Royal Marines were probably based on intelligence he and Ducky gathered.”

Gibbs had to stop and think about that for a moment. This man, only five and twenty, had been a spy and a good one at that. It was no wonder that he knew his poisons, and was able to recall movement of the guests in Houghton Hall the previous night, when he was supposed to be having a birthday ball.

“But they dragged him back into this,” Paddington snarled. “He was out of this life. And they dragged him back in by using him to threaten me.”

As if talking about him was a signal, Anthony’s long eyelashes fluttered as he slowly opened his eyes, stretched his muscles, and yawned, open mouthed, flashing his straight white teeth and a hint of his pink tongue. Gibbs had to forcibly remind himself that he was standing in the presence of Anthony’s Alpha uncle, a man reputed to be one of the most powerful men in England, and he should not have inappropriate thoughts about the man’s nephew. Or really, his son. It was obvious that Anthony and Clive had a father and son relationship, not that of uncle and nephew.

“I was wondering who invited the Davids?” Anthony asked through another yawn. “I mean, I know I did not. Did you, Father?”

“Of course I did not,” Paddington frowned. “It would have been out of character for me to do so and any invitations they might receive from me would have been suspect. Besides, everyone knows I would sooner shoot them than look at them.”

“So that leaves the Count?” Anthony pursed his lips.

“Or your stepmother.”

Anthony sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I thought you had cleared her when they first got married?”

“People change.”

“People get greedy, you mean,” Anthony grumbled. Gibbs heard him mumble words under his breath, but they were in a foreign tongue. He wondered what the man was muttering.

“And you must return to Houghton Hall before you are missed, my foul mouthed child,” Paddington helped him off the gurney and smacked a kiss to his forehead, running his hand down Anthony’s neck and scenting him again.

“I shall take him,” Morrow offered. “Mrs Morrow is staying at Houghton Hall and would probably expect news from me at breakfast.”

Paddington nodded.

“But I cannot leave if you are still a target…” Anthony frowned at his uncle.

“I am not completely helpless, Tony. Remember who it was who trained you, hmm? And I have others watching us,” Paddington assured him. “I am not alone. Doctor Mallard is here. And do not underestimate Lieutenant Gibbs. He has a reputation for being savage when he needs to be.”

Anthony cocked his head and gave Gibbs a look, openly weighing him. “Very well,” he nodded. Apparently Gibbs passed muster, and he liked that Anthony thought he could be trusted to keep his uncle safe. Anthony pulled the pistol holstered at his hip and handed it to Gibbs. “Just in case.”

Anthony said his goodbyes to Doctor Mallard, who was still elbow deep in Eli David’s body, grinned at Jimmy Palmer, and gave Gibbs an expectant smile.

“I hope to see you later, Mr Paddington,” Gibbs bowed. “You are quite unexpected.”

“In a good way?” Anthony’s green eyes were huge.

“In a _very_ good way,” Gibbs assured him.

Anthony beamed at him before he took Morrow’s arm and left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the lovely comments and kudos! You guys make me so happy. 😁
> 
> Until tomorrow ❤️💋


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are awesome! Your comments, especially on the previous chapter, really put a smile on my face! Thank you ❤️

[](https://i.imgur.com/0igc0iy.jpg)

The next day, Gibbs was working with Lieutenant Tobias Fornell, who had decided to accompany Timothy McGee. McGee had been sent off to London to work the case from there, and Fornell, who Gibbs had also worked with and was currently McGee’s ranking officer, and Gibbs were interrogating all of the attendees, based on the lists that Anthony had given to Paddington the previous night to find out what, if anything, they could learn from them. They were also part of the suspect pool.

Gibbs and Fornell had worked through many of the Alphas that had come to Ashford for the occasion of Anthony Paddington’s twenty fifth birthday ball and although several had come across as somewhat suspicious, Fornell was inclined to believe that they were merely being cagey about the fact that they had come to a quiet town to attend the birthday party of a twenty five year old, unmarried and wealthy Omega and Gibbs did not disagree. Fornell was formerly one of Gibbs’ rivals from a different division and he had transferred in to take over Gibbs’ men after Gibbs retired, so Gibbs knew him and was used to his litany of complaints and his habit of trying to get under Gibbs’ skin. But he did good work, knew how to keep important secrets, and Gibbs did not begrudge his involvement in this investigation. But Fornell was starting to get to him now. Today, he had been trying to get Gibbs to talk about the Omega. Not while they were interrogating their suspects, of course, but when it was just the two of them. He was very curious about the Paddington Omega because he had never met one before in his life. And Gibbs did not wish to talk about Anthony, especially when he had not been able to see the man yet that day. Anthony was staying at Houghton Hall, unable to actively participate in the investigation, given that he was supposed to be a distraught Omega.

“You were at the party last night, were you not, Gibbs?” Fornell asked.

Gibbs gave him a baleful look. Fornell knew the answer to that question quite well and Gibbs felt no compunction to respond.

“Well, of course you were because you were escorting your ward Miss Sciuto to the party. So you must have met Miss Paddington?”

Gibbs gave him a noncommittal grunt. Apparently, Fornell had not been informed that the Paddington Omega was not female.

“Oh come now, Gibbs! You must let me live vicariously through you. I am long married and a father to boot, so I cannot look upon lovely Omega damsels with anything but paternal protectiveness,” he whined. “You, however, are quite single.”

Gibbs heaved a long breath and rolled his eyes. But he refused to say a word about Anthony, not even to correct Fornell’s assumption that Lord Paddington’s Omega ward was a woman. It would be amusing to see how Anthony dealt with Fornell, at any rate.

It was mid-afternoon by the time they were on their way to interview Alpha Trent Kort at his lodgings in nearby Guilford when a runner, one of Paddington’s men, caught up with them.

“There’s been another murder,” the runner told them.

“Who was murdered?” Fornell asked.

“Alpha Harold Kane,” came the answer.

“We just talked to him this morning!” Fornell frowned.

“Where was the body found?” Gibbs wanted to know.

“By the little bridge across the stream, near the Huntsford place. Lord Paddington is there now.”

Gibbs nudged his horse with his foot. “Let’s go,” he told Fornell.

They rode hard, getting to the location in little time with Gibbs leading the way, since he knew exactly where that was, given his scouting walks of the area around Ashford in recent weeks. They overtook Mr Palmer’s cart as they approached the stream and when they got there they saw that Doctor Mallard was already examining the body while Lord Paddington loomed over them.

“Ah Gibbs, you made good time,” Paddington waved him over.

Gibbs and Fornell secured their horses to the branches of a nearby tree and headed to the edge of the stream. “What have we got?” Gibbs asked.

“Alpha Harold Kane,” Doctor Mallard recited, as he continued to examine the body. “Thirty years old, found face down in the stream, by that child over there,” he pointed to the bridge where a nine or ten year old boy was staring at them with wild eyes.

“I went straight to Houghton Hall!” the boy called out. “Master Paddington even gave me a honey cake for my troubles.”

“That was very nice of him,” Mallard said agreeably.

“Mr Palmer should be here shortly,” Gibbs reported. “We passed his cart on the way.”

“Excellent,” Mallard nodded. “Although I do fear for that poor boy’s nerves. Ashford is far too quiet a town for such goings on as have happened since last night.”

Dogs barking caught their attention and they all turned to see a tall figure striding along the banks of the stream with great speed. He was accompanied by two large French poodles and a massive wolfhound.

“Ah, Tony, I see you made your escape,” Paddington greeted his nephew by running his hand down his neck and kissing his cheek. Gibbs could sense Fornell’s confusion at this action.

“I had to pretend I needed to take the dogs for a walk in order to get out of the house,” Anthony complained, absently petting a poodle. “As if I would be a target, if indeed, someone is targeting Alphas.”

“Is that what the whispers are about now?” Mallard asked.

“Yes, Ducky, that’s what people are saying now,” Anthony replied with a long sigh. “I would not be in danger if someone is targeting Alphas. Especially those who were here on such a foolish mission.” He looked to the boy on the bridge. “Go back home Georgie!” he called to him. “Your mother will worry if you do not get home soon. There are dangerous people about, you know!”

“I’m off then!” the boy waved before he scampered away.

“Do you think it is the Alphas who are being targeted?” Fornell asked.

“I see no evidence of anything else at this point in time.”

“And how does it fit with the attempt on Lord Paddington’s life?” Gibbs was trying to fit the pieces together.

“No idea yet,” Anthony shrugged. “But I do know that I do not need to be kept at home with the women and the children, for my own safety.”

Fornell nodded, apparently agreeing that Anthony seemed to be capable of looking after himself. “At least Lord Paddington’s Omega ward is at home safe, protected from all of this,” he remarked. “I confess, I am always at a loss when there are tears, and there seem to always be tears when women are confronted with such unsavory things.”

Anthony turned to stare at him in amazement before he broke into a wicked grin. “And you are…?”

“Lieutenant Tobias Fornell,” he introduced himself, and instead of the usual curtsey, Anthony merely nodded his head at the man. The gleam in his green eyes made Gibbs suspicious though.

“I agree, we do not need simpering Omegas, crying at the sight of a dead body, do we Lieutenant?” he asked Fornell. “And how are you connected to all of this…?” he gestured towards Doctor Mallard and the body.

“I am Specialist McGee’s superior, and I elected to accompany him when he received Gibbs’ request,” Fornell explained.

“Ah, I see,” Anthony nodded, before he turned to look at Doctor Mallard. “Ducky, do you need my help?”

“Why don’t you come down here, Anthony, and help me turn this poor man over. You can tell me what your observations are later.”

“Of course, Ducky.” Anthony raised an eyebrow at Paddington who nodded, giving his assent without a word. “Thank you, Father,” Anthony lifted his chin, and Paddington obediently ran his hand down Anthony’s neck, scenting him again.

Anthony shrugged his coat off, dropping it carelessly on the ground, gave the dogs a command, in French for the poodles, and in German for the wolfhound before he scrambled down the bank to where Mallard awaited him. The dogs surrounded Fornell then, sitting on their hinds, ears perked up and silently eyeing him. It was, Gibbs thought, a rather eerie sight and he wanted to laugh out loud at Fornell’s shocked expression.

“Pardon me, my lord,” Fornell started to say. “But I did not know that you had a son?”

Paddington grinned at him, watching as Fornell started looking more worried when he took a step to the side, and all three dogs moved in tandem with him before sitting back down, continuing to stare at him in complete silence the whole time. “Did you not?” he asked mildly.

Fornell shook his head. “I know only of your ward, the Omega, my lord.”

“Did Lieutenant Gibbs not tell you anything about my ward?” Paddington asked, glancing at Gibbs.

“I fear, he would not,” Fornell kept digging his hole deeper with the older man, while still trying to sidle away and the dogs refusing to look away or allow him out of their circle. “But he has always been tightlipped and does not like to impart knowledge.”

“Unless it was relevant,” Gibbs spoke up.

Mr Palmer’s cart arrived then and he jumped down and greeted Paddington with a stammered “My lord.”

“I have done all I can for now. Shall we carry this poor man up the embankment?” Mallard was heard to ask.

“Come, Palmer,” Gibbs grabbed the young undertaker by the elbow, eliciting a squeak out of him, as he was ushered down the embankment. “Let us assist.”

Paddington came over to watch as they each took a limb – Gibbs, Palmer, Mallard and Anthony, and gradually climbed up to where they were. Fornell had tried to come with them, but the dogs refused to let him go.

“Sir, why do your dogs behave so?” Fornell called out when Lord Paddington helped the men place Alpha Kane into a rough coffin so he could be transported back to the undertaker’s. “They will not let me through.”

“Hmm?” Anthony gave him an innocent, wide eyed look. “Oh, the dogs? I do apologize, but they wanted to ensure that no one would be crying at the scene of this crime.”

“What?” Fornell asked.

“I thought it would be prudent to protect you, from such an indelicate situation, Lieutenant Fornell,” Anthony said earnestly. “Nobody needs to be confronted with tears and a blubbering Omega while we have such unsavory work to do.”

Fornell gave Gibbs a confused look.

“Oh, Lieutenant Fornell,” Paddington grinned. “How remiss of me. Please, allow me to introduce you to my ward and adopted son, Anthony Paddington, whose twenty fifth birthday ball was struck by tragedy last night.”

Anthony curtseyed politely, and the grin on his face could only be described as like the cat’s that ate the canary. “Charmed, I’m sure,” he simpered, pulling his coat back on. “If it will make you feel better, I could pretend to cry?”

Fornell’s mouth dropped open. “_You’re_ the Omega…?”

“Anthony, you cannot attend Mr Kane’s post mortem, I’m afraid,” Doctor Mallard interrupted, blithely ignoring the dramatics. “You must complete your walk, and return to Houghton Hall or the DiNozzos will be displeased. We cannot draw their attentions to you at the moment. I shall give you the details of my investigation later.”

“But I do enjoy a good post mortem. Even if Mr Kane’s cause of death clearly looks to be strangulation,” Anthony pouted.

“Strangulation?” Gibbs asked. It was different than last night. But Kane looked as if he had suffered a beating, with bruises and marks across his face.

“No ligature marks around his neck, but there is a swelling and what I believe to be pre-mortem bruising here and here,” Mallard indicated his own neck. “Anthony is correct. This man was strangled with somebody’s bare hands after being severely beaten.”

“A different modus operandi,” Anthony speculated. “Same perpetrator? Or something completely new?”

“We shall have to see, sweet boy! But you know you must go home before anyone becomes suspicious. Come, Mr Palmer. Shall we go?” Ducky patted Palmer’s shoulder.

Anthony made a face and Gibbs heard a few of the same muttered words in a foreign language from the night before.

Paddington laughed at that, and offered Anthony his arm. “I shall escort you home then, young man, to ensure that you are protected from any other unsavory encounters. Or should I say that I should protect others from your unsavory language.”

Anthony stuck his tongue out at his uncle. “I’m sure Heloise, Abelard and Schmetterling will protect me from anything or anyone that might be out there,” he grumbled.

“Gibbs…” Paddington looked at him.

“I shall continue with the interrogations and send Fornell to try to trace Alpha Kane’s final steps,” Gibbs stood at attention. “We spoke to him just this morning and he was quite alive.”

“If the dogs will free me, that is!” Fornell called from where he was still caged in by Anthony’s dogs.

“We should find out what has happened in the interim,” Paddington agreed, ignoring Fornell’s predicament. “Come, Anthony.”

“Yes, Father,” Anthony sighed. He clicked his throat and all three dogs abandoned their positions around Fornell and scampered towards him, their tails wagging happily. He praised them and petted them before they all set off. The wolfhound turned and Gibbs swore that the dog glared at Fornell for a long moment. It barked once at him, an imperious warning, before it turned to follow both Paddingtons.

Fornell stared at Gibbs and Doctor Mallard patted him on the back before Gibbs helped the elderly doctor up into Mr Palmer’s cart.

“Don’t fret, Lieutenant Fornell,” Mallard told the man. “Anthony’s dogs are certainly fierce and loyal, but take heart that his frightening wolfhound is called Schmetterling,” and the doctor chuckled at that.

Fornell raised an eyebrow at Doctor Mallard.

“It means ‘butterfly’,” Mallard chuckled some more, obviously amused that the ferocious creature had been named something so gentle and beautiful. The cart set off and only Gibbs and Fornell were left by the river bank.

Gibbs hid a smile behind his hand. “Come, Fornell. We have our orders.”

Fornell smacked Gibbs’ upper arm with his hat. “I _cannot_ believe you did not tell me that Lord Paddington’s Omega ward was not a woman. You thought that Lord Paddington’s ward being a male Omega was _not relevant_?”

Gibbs shrugged and made a noncommittal noise.

“For future reference, I assure you that it is relevant information,” Fornell grumbled.

“I believe he made that point himself, did he not?” Gibbs grinned.

“He is quite handsome,” Fornell remarked.

Gibbs growled at him warningly.

Fornell rolled his eyes. “If it is true that whoever is doing this is targeting the Alphas that have come to court Mr Paddington, then perhaps you should not go alone. After all, are you not one of the single Alphas invited to his birthday ball?”

Gibbs rolled his eyes. “Hold your tongue and get to work, Fornell.”

Fornell was still chuckling to himself as he got back on his horse.

“We will regroup either at the undertaker’s or at Houghton Hall,” Gibbs told him before they went their separate ways.

Two hours later, they were reconvened at the Inn in Ashford for Alpha Rene Benoit had been found dead in his lodgings.

“Poisoning again,” Mallard declared as he examined the man. “There is the same smell of almonds.”

“Back to the original modus operandi,” Gibbs frowned.

Anthony arrived and immediately was pulled into a tight embrace by Benoit’s Alpha daughter, Jeanne. There was a torrent of distraught French being spoken by both of them, and Gibbs could tell that Anthony was genuinely upset at this development. He remembered how cordially Anthony had greeted both father and daughter the previous night. These had been friends of his, he realized.

Paddington left Jeanne at the inn with one of his men to ensure her safety and Doctor Mallard took the body of Rene Benoit with him to add to the fast growing population of dead Alphas now being collected at Mr Palmer’s. Anthony was tucked securely under his uncle’s arm, taking comfort from his uncle.

“I don’t understand,” Anthony’s distress was unfeigned this time. “Monsieur Benoit wasn’t even courting me! He has a wife!”

“Perhaps whoever is doing this was not aware of his marriage?” Paddington asked. “After all, is he not estranged from his wife? Perhaps it is not openly known that he is still married.”

“Of _course_ he is still married! He is a Frenchman. They do not believe in divorces,” Anthony snapped. “And I would not entertain the affections of a _married_ man. He was only here to accompany his daughter since even though she is an Alpha, she is a woman first and not allowed to travel unchaperoned.”

“I know, Anthony.”

“If anyone should have been targeted, it should have been Jeanne as she more fits the profile of somebody who has come a-courting,” Anthony’s casual use of Jeanne Benoit’s first name made Gibbs’ hackles rise. It was clear that Anthony was friendly with the Benoits.

It was very late that night when Gibbs, Fornell, Lord Paddington, Lord Morrow, Doctor Mallard and Anthony met again, this time in Anthony’s study at Houghton Hall. He called it the study, but truly, it was practically a library with bookshelves stuffed with books on all of the walls. There was the large desk that Gibbs had seen Anthony lounge at the first time he visited Houghton Hall, and it was cluttered with paperwork and books, several of them opened to different pages. It seemed as if Anthony was someone who did not like to do one thing at a time, and was in the middle of reading at least five books.

Mrs Osgood herself brought a large tray of tea and sandwiches to the study, curtseying to Lord Paddington and laying a gentle hand on Anthony’s shoulder as he frowned at the notes he was making, before she left the room. He seemed to have recovered from his distress at the death of Rene Benoit, although it was difficult to tell with him. He seemed to be a master of hiding his true emotions.

“This is extremely puzzling,” Anthony muttered. “I do not believe Alpha Kane’s murder is connected to those of Eli David’s and Rene Benoit.”

“But why would there be three unrelated deaths here in Ashford, all at the same time?” Mallard asked.

“That seems less plausible than someone re-using their modus operandi after they strangled someone,” Fornell agreed.

“I spoke to the innkeeper’s children and they told me that a woman in a dark cloak visited with Monsieur Benoit while Jeanne was out at the shops,” Anthony insisted. “They never saw her face. And poison is more typically the weapon of choice for a woman.”

“How do you suppose Kane fits into this theory then?” Gibbs asked.

“I think that David and Benoit were killed by the same person,” Anthony mused. “I do not have a motive yet, but these two deaths are connected. And Kane was killed by someone else.”

“It does not mean all three murders are not connected,” Paddington murmured.

“Two murderers working together?” Gibbs mused.

“Perhaps. Or perhaps they are unrelated. Monsieur Benoit was married and therefore not an eligible Alpha, and if anybody were to think that I would consider Mr David for anything related to marriage, they have absolutely no idea who I am. Even if he _was_ eligible and apparently trying to gain my affections,” Anthony made a face.

“Why would there be two murderers unrelated to each other at Ashford, Tony?” Paddington asked. “And how does it fit into our original intelligence?”

“The Davids _were_ here to kill you, Father,” Anthony murmured. “I am still convinced of it.”

“And yet Eli David was the one who died last night.”

There was a long moment while they all tried to digest this information.

“The Davids were invited by the Count and his wife,” Mallard added. “How do the DiNozzos fit in to this puzzle?”

Anthony pulled several clean sheets of paper and wrote down the names of each victim at the top of a separate page, and he put the DiNozzos on a separate piece of paper, as well as Lord Paddington. “Let’s fill in some of these blanks with what we do know, and see if we can make sense of it.”

Fornell took the paper for Alpha Kane as he had investigated the man’s actions closely. Doctor Mallard ended up scribbling his notations on what he found during the post mortems on each of the victim sheets, and everyone added bits and pieces of what they knew. When they could no longer add anything to the pages, Anthony cleaned a portable blackboard that he had and tacked the pages onto the board, using the chalk to write down questions and next steps on the board under each page.

They talked for several more hours, trying to understand how it all fit in together, and Anthony completed several more pieces of paper, outlining what they knew about the plot to assassinate Lord Paddington, and a list of the Alphas who had the most to gain by killing Paddington, as well as a list of those who had the most to gain by marrying Anthony. The matter of fact way that he wrote names down, those who wished to harm his uncle, and those who wished to marry him for their own personal gain, made Gibbs’ head spin. If he were to list those who wished to harm Abigail, he would surely be going out of his mind in anger.

“McGee is looking into the DiNozzos financials to see if the Davids paid them,” Gibbs muttered. “He will be back here tomorrow morning and will be able to help us fill in more blanks.”

“I am missing something,” Anthony muttered as he stood in front of the blackboard, arms wrapped around himself, biting at his fingernails. “What am I not seeing?”

Lord Morrow yawned and stretched. “Perhaps we should return to this in the morning when we are refreshed,” he suggested. “None of us slept very much last night and it has been a busy day.”

Paddington nodded his agreement. “Come, Tony. Go to bed and we shall pick this up in the morning. What time will your man arrive do you think?” he directed the question to Gibbs.

“McGee’s last express to me said that he would be back here by mid-morning, hopefully.”

Paddington smiled. “We will have more information then, and then we shall see where we are.”

Gibbs watched as Anthony nodded, then he flipped the blackboard over and pushed it up against the wall, so the papers were towards the wall and on the other side of the blackboard were what looked to be rather complicated (and therefore boring) mathematical or chemistry related equations.

“Is this room secure?” Fornell asked. “We are in the DiNozzos house, after all.”

“No, Lieutenant,” Anthony shook his head. “We are in _my_ house. The DiNozzos may live here, but make no mistake, this house is _mine_ and the servants are loyal only to _me_.”

“And besides, only Mrs Osgood and Harris the head footman have a key to this room,” Mallard added. “They are entirely trustworthy and have been loyal to Anthony since he was born. Do not worry. This room is secure.”

“We’ll get some rest tonight. I’m sure tomorrow everything will start to look better,” Morrow nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did say in the summary that Gibbs and Tony would have to work together to stop the killings. Plural. So... here we go!
> 
> I'll have more tomorrow 😁💋


	8. Chapter 8

[](https://i.imgur.com/0igc0iy.jpg)

_“We’ll get some rest tonight. I’m sure tomorrow everything will start to look better,” Morrow nodded._

Gibbs would have happily decked the Admiral for those words. Everything had gotten so much worse in the last two days since they were uttered. Seven more of the eligible Alphas had been beaten and strangled to death in the last two days. Five of them had been found dead in and around Surrey, two of them killed after they had returned to London. The only connection other than the cause of death seemed to be that they had all been eligible Alphas invited to Anthony’s twenty fifth birthday ball. Well, all of them were single other than Monsieur Benoit, but he could have been mistaken for an eligible Alpha as Gibbs himself had thought that to be true. And of course, the Admiral had been called back to London to fulfill his own duties, especially since Lord Paddington had chosen to remain in Surrey until the resolution of these crimes, so Morrow wasn’t even there to help them anymore.

Currently, they were sitting down to dinner at Houghton Hall, a meal presided by Lord Paddington. Abigail and Miss Todd were in attendance, as were both the Count and Mrs DiNozzo. What had started out as a lively dinner was now a dismal affair. Halfway through their meal, a servant had rushed in with a missive for Lord Paddington. When he read it, he sighed and wordlessly passed it to Anthony, who immediately went pale. He locked eyes with his uncle, shaking his head, and the older man gave him a truly sympathetic look.

“I am sorry to say that I have received news that Alpha Jeanne Benoit has been killed,” Paddington announced slowly.

Anthony covered his mouth with his hands, his fingers trembling, still shaking his head.

“She left Ashford this afternoon,” Doctor Mallard frowned.

“Her carriage was attacked on its way to Dover,” Paddington continued, his voice heavy. “Her entire retinue, they were all killed. There were no survivors.”

Abigail gasped. “No one?” she asked.

Paddington shook his head. “Not the coachman, nor her footmen. No one was left alive.”

Gibbs understood what Paddington meant by that. Even the man he had provided as an escort for added security had been killed. Whoever was doing this was deadly serious.

“She wasn’t even going to London. She was on her way back to France,” Anthony choked out, hands still covering his mouth. “She was going home and away from this _madness_.”

“Anthony,” Doctor Mallard’s voice was soft.

“_Why_ did I ask you to invite them, Father?” Anthony turned to Paddington, his green eyes filling with tears. “_Why_ did I want them to come? Why did I think they would find this ball as ridiculous and amusing as I would? Why did I not think of their safety?"

Paddington was out of his chair and kneeling by the Omega, pulling him into his arms and rumbling comfortingly in his chest. He ran his hands up and down Anthony’s neck and hair, liberally spreading his scent and calming the Omega with it. “It’s not your fault, sweetheart,” he murmured. “None of this is your fault. We could not have expected this to happen. Hush now.”

“But so many people have _died_!” Anthony’s words were muffled into Paddington’s neck. No doubt the Omega was taking comfort in his Alpha’s scent. It was strange for Gibbs to witness this because even though he was an Alpha, scenting was no longer part of the norm for most people as Betas did not respond to scents, and they made up the bulk of the population. Alphas were fewer and would resist marking each other, therefore the instinct to scent mark had mostly been bred out of society. But when an Omega was in the mix, everything was different. It was apparent that Omegas still needed to be scent marked and used scent in a much more visceral manner than Gibbs was used to.

“Most of them were stupid knotheads anyway,” Paddington tried to joke.

Mrs DiNozzo and Miss Todd both gasped in outrage at his words, but Anthony gave a surprised chuckle at that, although it still sounded wet and tearful. These tears were so different to Gibbs than the ones he had produced on cue after they discovered the body of Eli David. This was genuine distress. Yet Gibbs was certain that not many people would be able to tell the difference between the two outbursts.

Paddington caught Gibbs’ eye over Anthony’s head, and he gave the man a nod. Gibbs stood and signaled to Fornell and McGee who were also dining with them, ready to set off on the road to Dover. They would need to begin the investigation and bring all the bodies back for Doctor Mallard to examine.

“May I request that you stay in Ashford, Lieutenant Gibbs,” Paddington surprised him with that, eyes flicking to Fornell and McGee.

Having worked with the man closely in the past few days, Gibbs understood that he wanted only Fornell and McGee to go. “My lord?” Gibbs had to ask. Why was Paddington not sending Gibbs to do this work?

“I’m afraid that you cannot go, Lieutenant,” Paddington said, looking uncomfortable. “Mademoiselle Benoit is the tenth Alpha killed, who attended Anthony’s ball. You are among the number of Alphas in the same category as Mademoiselle Benoit.”

Abigail gasped loudly. “Gibbs! Are you also a target?” she exclaimed.

“I am sure that I will be able to handle myself, my Lord,” Gibbs gave Abby a warning look, trying to silence her, but she shook her head.

“You are in danger!” she gasped. “Lord Paddington is absolutely right. You cannot go. You cannot leave me, Gibbs. Please don’t leave me. I can’t even consider the thought that you could also die!”

Gibbs could see how afraid Abby was for him. She had only just lost her own father. He could understand why the thought of losing her guardian too would be distressing.

“I must go,” Anthony pushed away from his uncle. “Lieutenant Gibbs should stay. I can go.”

“Do not be so impetuous, Anthony,” Mrs DiNozzo snapped. “It is improper for you to be going somewhere where people have died. You are an unmarried Omega. You are not to troop around at night looking for dead bodies.”

“Jeanne was my _friend_!” Anthony growled. “And I will thank you to remember that.”

“She is dead and you are not,” Mrs DiNozzo continued sharply. “And I will look out for your virtue, even if nobody else will.”

Anthony’s eyes narrowed and color rose in his cheeks. “How _dare_ you,” he bit out. “All you want is for me to marry the stupidest, most foolish Alpha you can find, someone that _you_ can control, someone so thoroughly under your thumb, so you and the Count will finally secure me and my inheritance. That was the entire point of you inviting all of the Alphas that I would not be caught dead with on a regular basis, wasn’t it?”

“_Anthony_!” Paddington barked, and Anthony subsided, tears rolling down his face. “Hush, sweetheart. _Nobody_ will force you to marry anyone, Tony. You know that.” These words were said with a fierce glare at Mrs DiNozzo. “And you are much too precious for me to risk you going out there while someone is attempting to eliminate all of your suitors, sweetheart,” he turned back to Anthony. “What would stop them from just kidnapping you, without even worrying about any of your other suitors?”

“I can take care of myself,” Anthony said mutinously.

“Of course you can,” Paddington agreed. “I have helped to ensure that you can. But there is too much risk now. Ten Alphas have died, along with Mademoiselle Benoit’s entire retinue. I cannot allow you to do this.”

“But she was my friend,” Anthony repeated.

“Fornell and McGee will ensure her remains are treated with respect,” Paddington kept his tone calm, looking up questioningly to the two men.

“Of course, my lord,” both Fornell and McGee responded.

“We will bring her body back here. You may see her then. All right?” Paddington turned back to the Omega.

Anthony nodded slowly.

“And by that same token, Lieutenant Gibbs, I’m afraid we can’t risk you either,” Paddington turned to Gibbs.

“But…” Gibbs tried to object.

“Perhaps you would be so kind as to remain here in Ashford, and ensure my son’s safety?” Paddington turned guileless eyes to Gibbs, startling him with the request. “You remain a competent Marine even though you are retired. My son will surely be safe with you.”

Mrs DiNozzo gave Gibbs a ferocious glare at that comment, which surprised Gibbs. Surely ensuring her stepson’s safety was as important to her as it was to Lord Paddington? If nothing else, Anthony was her meal ticket. Killing the golden goose was a foolish thing to do.

Anthony frowned as he looked at Paddington and snuck a quick glance at Gibbs, his gaze full of confusion and concern.

“I would see this as a personal favor to me, Lieutenant,” Paddington continued.

Gibbs knew that he could not go against this man’s request. Reluctantly he nodded. “Very well,” he agreed. “I will remain here and ensure that nothing happens to Mr Paddington. But I need to speak to McGee and Fornell before they depart.”

“Do please be careful, Mr McGee,” Abigail entreated.

“I shall, Miss Sciuto,” McGee stammered. “Anything for you.”

Gibbs mentally rolled his eyes and sighed inwardly. Of course, once Abby met his former assistant, she was immediately enamored of him. And to his credit, McGee seemed equally as struck by his lovely ward, stuttering endlessly whenever she spoke to him. It was adorable, even if Gibbs was loathe to admit it. He would happily pull McGee’s stomach out through his esophagus, if Abby was in any way hurt or slighted by the young man. Something that he had already made very clear to McGee.

“Well, that was dramatic,” Count DiNozzo said drolly. “I need more whiskey. _Much_ more whiskey,” he shook his empty glass and a servant rushed to pour him more of the amber liquid, the Count urging him to fill his glass to the brim.

Gibbs escaped the dining room, barking out orders to McGee and Fornell as they strode briskly through the hallway, familiar with Houghton Hall what with all the discussions they had had in Anthony’s study over the last couple of days. They went over what Paddington would need to know, and they would also ask Mr Palmer to start down the road to Dover. A local undertaker would be asked to start transporting the remains back to Ashford, and be transferred to Mr Palmer’s wagon the rest of the way. Doctor Mallard would need to examine these bodies as well.

“Looks like you’ve got an in with Alpha Paddington,” Fornell elbowed him with a sly grin.

Gibbs rolled his eyes. “Ensure that Mademoiselle Benoit’s remains are treated with care.”

“Yes, Boss,” McGee nodded.

“And don’t forget the descriptions and the measurements,” Gibbs reminded them. This was a practice that Paddington and Anthony used to attempt to recreate the crime and it had been an interesting way of piecing together what could have happened by analyzing what was left behind. Gibbs most definitely agreed with the practice.

“On it, Boss,” McGee responded.

Gibbs watched as both men got on their horses and set off at great speed. He blew out a long breath before heading back into the house.

When he returned to the dining room, Anthony was pushing food around on his plate, still looking visibly upset, his temper beginning to fray with how cold Mrs DiNozzo was being. She seemed perhaps even smug. Gibbs wondered what he might have missed, but Paddington gestured to the seat next to Anthony. Gibbs tried to suppress a sigh when he realized that they had reorganized the seating arrangement to allow Gibbs to sit next to Anthony now. Not that he was complaining, because it was truly not a hardship to sit so closely to the lovely Omega, but he was also sure that Lord Paddington did not do anything by accident. There was a purpose to this ostensibly different rearrangement.

Gibbs nodded and took the seat indicated, squeezing Anthony’s fingers to comfort him before he picked up his own knife and fork. Anthony nodded silently, thanking him for the gesture. Their movements did not escape Mrs DiNozzo’s sharp gaze and she glared at him, while Lord Paddington carefully ignored it all, although Gibbs thought that now he seemed to be the one with the slightly smug air instead of Mrs DiNozzo. Anthony was silent throughout the rest of the meal, barely eating another bite, and Gibbs would know this because he could not help but watch him closely. Abigail, Miss Todd, Doctor Mallard, Lord Paddington and Count DiNozzo were the ones who kept the conversation going, although Gibbs was glad that Abigail was not talking about the murders. She had become rather obsessed with all the deaths, but she was thankfully tactful enough to realize that poor Anthony was taking at least this last murder rather personally.

The men retired to Anthony’s study after dinner and Gibbs watched as both Doctor Mallard and Lord Paddington tried to give comfort to the Omega. At the end of the evening when it was time for Gibbs to leave, he squeezed both of Anthony’s hands in his, and the quiet man squeezed him back, nodding silently. Gibbs could not resist the urge and moved closer.

“We will not let this go,” he whispered into Anthony’s ear. “I give you my word. We will avenge her. And the others.”

Anthony nodded again, giving him the smallest of smiles.

“I shall expect you in the morning, Gibbs,” Paddington told him, sliding in, separating Gibbs from the Omega and tucking Anthony protectively under his arm again. “I am entrusting you with my son’s safety.”

Gibbs resisted the urge to salute, for he was retired and as far as he knew, Paddington did not carry any kind of rank in the military, but he did click his heels and nod before he turned to leave.

He, Abigail and Miss Todd were in their carriage on their way back to their house when he let out a long sigh.

“Oh, poor Mr Paddington,” Abigail’s eyes were sad. “He must not blame himself so. He is innocent in all of this.”

“Who else is to blame, then, if not him?” Miss Todd asked sharply.

“The murderer, perhaps?” Gibbs arched an eyebrow at her, reminding her that there was someone out there killing people and that the blame should lie with the actual killer.

Miss Todd could not disagree with him, although her agreement was reluctantly given.

“I do hope that poor Mr Paddington was not in love with Mademoiselle Benoit,” Abigail started wringing her hands in her lap. “If he asked Lord Paddington to invite them, he must have had some connection with them. He must be so heartbroken, the poor man.”

Gibbs heart lurched at that. Even though Anthony had insisted that the Benoits had been his friends, perhaps he had been hiding his true feelings about ‘Jeanne’. It made it difficult to breathe for a moment, until he focused again on what Abigail was chattering about.

“It is such a mystery why someone would be murdering the Alphas that came to Mr Paddington’s ball,” Abigail was saying. “They must be eliminating the competition.”

“Perhaps,” Miss Todd agreed. “It does seem a likely motive.”

“I do hope they catch the culprit soon,” Abby sighed. “I hate to think of Gibbs being in danger! And besides, poor Mr Paddington would be so upset if more people were to be killed. We do not want for him to blame himself again.”

Gibbs grunted his agreement.

“It was upsetting to see him so sad,” Abigail continued. “He possesses such a vibrant spirit. It makes the entire room feel darker when he is down.”

“He does have a remarkable presence,” Miss Todd agreed.

“At his ball, he was so beautiful! I loved his ball gown, and all the pretty ornaments in his hair!” Abigail smiled. “And he was so lively, I dare say he sparkled that night.”

“He was quite eye-catching,” Miss Todd said staidly. “Although I was surprised that he wore a gown, given that he had been wearing pants when we first met him.”

“He is a male Omega,” Abigail grinned. “He can wear whatever he pleases. There are no real rules for him, are there?”

“It is a travesty,” Miss Todd shook his head disapprovingly. “He should choose a gender and stick with it.”

“But he is both genders as well as neither,” Abby argued. “He is free to choose to dress how he likes, and how he feels.”

“I suppose.”

“Are you questioning one of God’s creations, Miss Todd?” Abby rolled her eyes. “For He made male Omegas as well, you know.”

“Of course, He did.”

“You have always believed that God makes no mistakes,” Abby grinned, as she trapped her governess in this debate. “And if God created male Omegas to be both male and female, and also neither, then that cannot be a mistake. And it cannot be a mistake that someone like Mr Paddington would choose to be both and neither as well. Unless… you believe God _did_ make a mistake?”

Miss Todd blushed at that and shook her head. “You are quite correct, Abigail,” she smiled. “Sometimes I fear I am too quick to judgment.”

“But you also try to be fair, Miss Todd,” Abby squeezed her hand. “Which is why I love you. You always try to help me see more than just what I want to see.”

Abby and Miss Todd exchanged smiles.

“Ah, but the ball was quite lovely,” Abby picked up the conversation from where they had gone off on a tangent. “Mr Paddington danced so _beautifully_! And he could dance both as a man and as a woman! I think, if I had to dance the part of the man, I would very much trip over myself and step on my partner’s feet! It would be a disaster.”

Both women tittered at that.

“I think Mr Paddington danced with every eligible Alpha that night,” Miss Todd remarked.

“Oh, he did! Although he danced only once with most of them,” Abby agreed. “He danced twice with Mademoiselle Benoit, but I believe that he danced at least four times with you, Gibbs!”

Gibbs frowned, unhappy that he was being brought into this conversation. “I’m sure you’re mistaken,” he grunted. She wasn’t but Gibbs wasn’t going to admit it.

“I am sure I am not,” Abigail contradicted him. “Not only did he dance with you four times, but I do believe that he, um, sparkled even more while he danced with you than with the others! His smiles were wide and real, and he was laughing at things you said to him. I thought he was quite besotted with you! And you looked happy for once, Gibbs. I enjoyed seeing you smile and laugh as well.”

“He is not looking for an Alpha,” Gibbs knew that his argument was weak, as was his voice. But he had to say it, mostly to stop himself from hoping. “And I am not looking for a spouse.”

“But you make such a striking couple,” Abby’s eyes were huge and earnest. “Don’t they, Miss Todd?”

Miss Todd made a face, but reluctantly nodded. “I am afraid that you do, Lieutenant,” she grimaced.

“I could hear whispers from all of the other Alphas, all of them jealous of the fact that Mr Paddington was so taken with you,” Abby said smugly. “And in all honesty, I think you are lovely together, not just because you are both handsome men, but also because you seem well matched. When you are together, you seem to be able to communicate exceedingly well, whether you use words or not. It is admirable, especially since you have not known each other for very long. I hope that one day I will meet someone who understands me the way you and Mr Paddington seem to be able to understand each other.”

“Abigail,” Gibbs growled.

“Oh, I know, this is making you uncomfortable,” Abby leaned into Gibbs’ body, hugging him. “But Gibbs, you know I only wish for you to be happy.”

“I know.”

“You deserve to be happy, Gibbs,” Abby said staunchly. “And so does Mr Paddington. And it seems to me that he makes you happy, and you make him happy. You are Alpha and Omega. I do not see why you cannot court him! I declare, he is already much more inclined towards you than any of the other Alphas we have met.”

“Well, right now, we need to stop the killings before anyone else is murdered,” Gibbs muttered.

“This is very true,” Abby nodded. “But once the killer is caught, perhaps _then_ you can begin courting Mr Paddington.”

The rest of the carriage ride conversation was thankfully gossip about the murdered Alphas and even though Gibbs did not believe that it was a topic that befitted his young ward, he was too relieved that she was no longer speaking of courting Anthony to object. Instead, he tuned it all out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm running a little behind tonight, so I will be replying to your comments when I can. But thank you so much for them! I love and appreciate you all ❤️❤️
> 
> Another chapter to be posted tomorrow!


	9. Chapter 9

[](https://i.imgur.com/BcfUncj.jpg)

The next morning, right after breakfast Lord Paddington sent a carriage to fetch Gibbs. Gibbs ensured that he had his pistol and several knives hidden about his person before he said goodbye to his ward, and had a quiet word with the team Paddington had left to secure his house, wanting to ensure Abby and Miss Todd’s safety. Then he got in the carriage and they went on their way to Houghton Hall.

Lord Paddington and Anthony were awaiting him in the study.

“Ducky has just begun his work with Mr Palmer assisting him,” Paddington told Gibbs. “Fornell and McGee are getting a few hours of sleep.”

Gibbs nodded.

Anthony was uncharacteristically silent.

“Are you all right, Mr Paddington?” Gibbs inquired gently.

Anthony nodded, although he began chewing on his thumbnail. Today he was dressed in men’s clothing again, although there was no sign of the cravat. He seemed to have an allergy to the neckwear, preferring to have his ruffled shirt open at the collar. He also had jeweled clips in his hair this morning, purely as adornment since his hair was kept much too short for the clips to actually be necessary.

“She is in the best hands now, Tony,” Paddington said softly. “There is no better man to work on Mademoiselle Benoit than your Ducky.”

“I know,” he mumbled around a fingernail. “I still can’t believe she’s dead. I mean, I saw her with my own eyes this morning and yet…” he sighed.

“You need some fresh air, sweetheart,” Paddington ran his hand down Anthony’s neck, and the younger man leaned into it, his movements reminding Gibbs of a large, dangerous cat. “Lieutenant Gibbs, perhaps you will accompany my son on a walk.”

“Will it be safe for the Lieutenant to run around outside without protection?” Anthony’s eyes were wide.

“He is armed, and you will be with him. You don’t often underestimate yourself,” Paddington smiled. “And I have no doubt that Heloise, Abelard and Schmetterling will all be a deterrent to anything untoward happening.”

“And the two men you’ve had following me around since last night, as well, my Lord?” Gibbs asked.

Anthony laughed at that. “Well, all right then,” he nodded. “I could probably do with some fresh air. But…”

“I will fetch you at once when Ducky sends for us,” Paddington assured him.

“Shall we?” Gibbs offered him his arm.

Anthony nodded, taking Gibbs’ arm. They set out, Gibbs steering them towards the lake where they had first met. The dogs were gamboling happily around them, pleased to be running around outside, even though they seemed to be less energetic than usual. Anthony’s dogs were so attuned to him that they were adapting their behavior to his moods.

Gibbs and Anthony walked in silence for a while, before Gibbs cleared his throat. “I am terribly sorry for the death of Mademoiselle Benoit,” he murmured.

“Thank you,” Anthony gave him a sad smile. “She and her father were both extremely kind people.”

Gibbs nodded, trying not to feel too awkward. Was he actually trying to ask if Anthony had been engaged or otherwise promised to Jeanne Benoit in some way? Because it felt to him as if he was trying to do this. Even if he wanted to resist the impulse, he just could not stop himself from pursuing this line of thought. “You and she seemed quite close,” he muttered.

“We were,” Anthony nodded, not knowing that every word was a stab in Gibbs’ heart. “We understood each other very well. While female Alphas are not nearly as rare as male Omegas, female Alphas are very much in the minority of the Alpha population. People often do not know how to treat her, just as many have trouble knowing how to treat me when they learn the truth of my designation. We had the same understanding of many things.”

“Like being viewed as your rare designations rather than as a real person?”

“Yes. That. And also…” Anthony sighed. “Jeanne and I both understand what it is to walk the line between being both masculine enough yet also feminine enough to not offend society’s sensibilities. It can be very complicated, and one must do some internal calculations of who is present and what you know of them in order to come to the right way to behave in that particular mix of society. Luckily, I am legally male in the eyes of the law, so legally I have more independence than Jeanne did, and Father has tried to keep the fact that I am an Omega quiet to give me that freedom that I would otherwise be deprived of. And it is not difficult for me to pass as a Beta. I have done so for most of my life. Unfortunately, everyone knew that Jeanne was an Alpha. It is harder for female Alphas to hide their true nature and designation. But yet, female Alphas are more constrained by law because most countries tend to view them as female first, giving them the legal rights of a woman, and an Alpha second, even if they can sire children just like any other man.”

Gibbs nodded.

“Being a male Omega, though, is a little bit like being a mythical creature,” Anthony confided. “We are so rare. I do not actually even know of any other like myself. Nobody knows quite what to do with a man who can bear children. There are no laws specific to male Omegas. Nobody expects to even _meet_ a female Omega in their lifetime, let alone have legislative discussions about a male Omega’s legal rights.”

Gibbs made a sympathetic noise.

Anthony sighed and walked for a moment in a heavy silence.

“Well, I cannot vouch for anyone else, but I do not see a horn on you, Mr Paddington,” Gibbs smirked at him.

Anthony frowned at him in confusion. “A horn?” he asked. “What do you mean?”

“A horn, yes. After all, do unicorns not possess a horn on their foreheads? Or do you prefer a different mythical creature instead of a horned beast?”

Anthony’s laugh at that warmed Gibbs’ heart. “Thank you, Lieutenant,” he smiled. “I needed that.”

Gibbs sighed and put a hand on Anthony’s, that was holding on to his arm. “I confess, I do not like it when you are sad,” he lowered his voice. “I hope that your heart will recover from this loss.”

Anthony leaned his head on Gibbs’ shoulder for a moment as they walked, before straightening up again. “I shall not forget Jeanne or her father,” he agreed. “She was a doctor, you know? She loved medicine and she loved to help people. She and Ducky used to have great debates about different medical practices, for Ducky is just as passionate as she about their shared profession.”

“Would you have moved to France to be with her?” Gibbs inquired, keeping his tone carefully polite. “Or would she have moved here for you?”

“_What_? Why would she have moved here?” Anthony gave him a surprised look.

“You meant to move to France then?”

“Nobody was moving anywhere,” Anthony shook his head. “There was absolutely no reason for anybody to move… Wait… you do not think and Jeanne and I had… an _understanding_ of some sort?”

Gibbs shrugged, pursing his lips. Yes, he did think so, and no, he did _not_ like it at all.

“Oh good gracious, no!” Anthony shook his head, his smile wide and genuine. “No, no, no. She and I were friends. We understood each other, certainly, and we were friends and dear ones at that, but there was never anything other than friendship between us. She was going to build her practice. She wanted to specialize in women’s health and perhaps look into some kind of surgical specialization. In Paris. And I admired her her passion for this, and I supported her endeavors, but I did not love her other than like a sister. And I have no wish to leave England.”

“Truly?” Gibbs was scrutinizing Anthony’s face now.

“Truly,” the Omega gave him a sad smile. “She was wonderful, but she was never in love with me, nor I with her,” he assured Gibbs. “I grieve for her as a friend and a brother.”

“And a fellow unicorn?”

“And a fellow unicorn,” Anthony chuckled softly, albeit sadly.

Gibbs patted Anthony’s hand, squeezing the fingers that were on his arm. It would be unwise of him to tell Anthony how glad he was to hear that, since the poor woman and her father had just both died, and even if Anthony was not in love with her, he had still had what seemed to be a close relationship to the Benoits.

“How did you come to know Mademoiselle Benoit?” Gibbs asked.

“Ducky and I met them during my Tour,” Anthony smiled. Apparently it was a good memory. “Strangely, it was my stepmother who introduced us. Her late father and Monsieur Benoit had been old friends and she wished for me to convey her regards. There were a few people she had mentioned to me, asking me to look them up. The Benoits were the only friends of hers who I actually liked.”

“They were Mrs DiNozzo’s friends?” Gibbs frowned. “It did not seem as if Mrs DiNozzo was as affected by their deaths as she should have been, if she had been their friends.”

“I don’t know,” Anthony sighed. “I cannot fathom her at the best of times. It felt to me as if her father might have been Monsieur Benoit’s friend, but that she was perhaps not that close with them?”

Gibbs nodded. That made sense.

“Jeanne never treated me like anything but a real person,” Anthony blew out a long breath. “She never thought I was a unicorn. She treated me like a human being. I often do not feel quite human when I am with other people.”

“I do not know what to say about that,” Gibbs told him, feeling sad for the younger man, “other than I wish I could stop people from not seeing you for who you are.”

Anthony grinned at him. “You have always treated me like a real person, Lieutenant Gibbs,” he leaned his head on Gibbs’ shoulder briefly again. “Even after you realized that I was the Omega.”

Gibbs’ face heated up and he knew that he was blushing. After all these years, someone was making him blush again.

“At the ball, Jeanne and I wondered if perhaps you were about to take some of the stupider Alphas outside and beat them to a bloody pulp for their crassness,” the Omega continued. “They spoke with such loud voices, assessing me as if I were a slab of meat, instead of a man with ears that work. Both Jeanne and I enjoyed imagining you teaching them a lesson.”

Gibbs knew that he was blushing even worse now. He was saved from needing to respond to this when the sound of horses’ hooves caught his attention. Both he and Anthony turned towards the noise, seeing Lord Paddington riding urgently to them, leading two horses, one of them the Arabian that Gibbs had seen Anthony ride before.

His heart sank. This could not possibly be good news.

Lord Paddington barely waited for his horse to stop before he leapt off of it. “There’s been another murder.”

“Who?” Anthony released Gibbs’ arm, his posture straightening.

“Lord Connaught’s son.”

“The Scotsman?” Anthony frowned. “I thought he went back to Scotland?”

“He did. He was murdered in Glasgow last night. I have just received news of it.”

“How?” Gibbs asked. “Perhaps it is unrelated?”

“Brute force again,” Paddington shook his head. “His head was bashed in, but there were also signs of strangulation around his neck. My man in Glasgow confirmed it.”

“There is a lot of rage in these killings,” Gibbs mused. “This person is very angry.”

“Other than the two cyanide deaths,” Anthony added. He still maintained that the murders of Eli David and Rene Benoit were unrelated to these other deaths and Gibbs had to agree that they did not seem to fit the pattern. “We have to do something to stop this, Father. This murderer went all the way to Glasgow, after he presumably slaughtered Jeanne. He is not in control.”

Paddington nodded. “He is escalating.”

“We need to get him back here,” Gibbs frowned. “He is pursuing the Alphas that have, understandably, all left the area. This wide range makes it more difficult for us to track him.”

“He will only return if there is a reason for him to do so,” Anthony pursed his lips, dimples creasing his cheek and a frown marring his brow.

Paddington looked at Anthony with such solemnity that Gibbs felt the need to pull the Omega behind his back as some form of protection. Whatever Paddington was about to say, he knew that he was not going to like it.

“We need bait,” Paddington said.

“No,” Gibbs found himself inserting himself in between Anthony and his Alpha. “_No_. We cannot use your son as bait. We cannot use your son to lure in a killer.”

“Good, then we are in agreement on this matter,” Paddington smiled sadly and patted his shoulder. “Anthony is not the bait, because I was thinking that it would be _you_ who would be the bait.”

“What?” Anthony pushed Gibbs aside. “_No_! Father, no! We cannot use Lieutenant Gibbs in this way.”

“Think about it, Tony, he is the only Alpha left in Ashford that fits the profile,” Paddington said reasonably. “And you have both been seen around town together.”

“We were investigating these deaths!” Anthony objected.

“That is not what people see,” Paddington said. “You have been very careful to hide who you really are from most people. And people are sheep. They see only what they want to see. I taught you this a long time ago, son. All anyone sees is an Alpha and an Omega becoming closer during these trying times.”

“But…” Anthony looked at Gibbs for support.

“We need to draw the murderer back here, and what better way than if it became known that Gibbs and you are engaged. That you have chosen an Alpha?” Paddington continued. “There would be no need for the murderer to pursue the other Alphas when Gibbs is the only one he needs to eliminate. This will save the other Alphas lives as well as bring him back to Ashford where we can devise a trap for him.”

“But we cannot… he does not… I…” Anthony broke off, at a loss for words.

“It is the only way,” Gibbs had to agree with Paddington. “He will come back to kill me. If he knew I was your choice.”

“And that is how we will catch him!” Paddington smiled at Gibbs, looking not just a little bit feral as he did.

“But we will be putting Lieutenant Gibbs in danger!” Anthony objected.

“I was a Royal Marine, Mr Paddington,” Gibbs smiled gently at him. “I will confess that retirement has been a little bit dull. I have been missing the action somewhat. I will not lie. And I cannot just stand by and watch Alphas be murdered left and right, when I can do something about it.”

“Lieutenant Gibbs, I leave this entirely up to you,” Paddington told him. “I do not mean to coerce you.”

“There is no coercion, my Lord,” Gibbs assured him.

“But…” Anthony started to object.

“You may break off your engagement, if that is what you prefer, once the murderer is caught,” Paddington was once again, entirely much too reasonable. “Take a moment to talk this through, and then come to Mr Palmer’s.”

Paddington handed Gibbs and Anthony their reins and he mounted his own horse. “If you decide to do this, you must keep this ploy only between the three of us. It would guarantee secrecy and thus, lure the killer here.”

“Rule Four,” Anthony interjected, making Gibbs turn to him and give him a pleased smile. Anthony remembered his rule about secrets.

Paddington held Anthony’s gaze for a moment before he smiled, clicked to his horse and he galloped away leaving Gibbs and Anthony staring at each other.

“I cannot ask you to do this, Lieutenant,” Anthony started. “This is too much to ask of you. Not just to put yourself out there as bait for a deranged killer, but to have to allow your good name to be attached to mine in such a way…”

“It is I, I am the one who is asking too much of you,” Gibbs took his hand and clasped it to his chest. “When this is over, it is your reputation that people will talk about. You are the Omega and your reputation is far more fragile than mine.”

“I care not a whit about my reputation,” Anthony’s brilliant eyes were on his, his gaze intense and unwavering. “I care about you putting your life and your name on the line.”

“It is a good plan,” Gibbs said. “But I shall not do this, if you are not in agreement. You are the one with too much to lose.”

“I don’t object to the plan,” Anthony said sadly. “I should. Because you deserve much more than… well. You deserve so much more. But Father is right. This is the best way to lure the killer back here.”

“I told you last night we would avenge Mademoiselle Benoit,” Gibbs said fiercely. “This is how we will get him. Together.”

Anthony nodded. Gibbs raised Anthony’s hand and carefully pressed his lips to warm skin. Anthony stared at him, color rising in his face, his mouth dropping open in shock, a pink tongue slipping out to wet those luscious lips of his. Gibbs was careful not to scent him or rub Anthony’s scent over his own neck, even though every instinct in him wanted to pull the man close and run his nose down his neck, to cover over the scent of Lord Paddington with his own. In his hair, the jeweled pins glinted in the sun, and Anthony’s skin, so golden and lovely, was perfection. Gibbs took a deep breath, unable to stop himself from breathing in the smell of strawberries and rain.

“It is agreed, then?” Gibbs asked.

Anthony nodded.

“Very good, Mr Paddington,” Gibbs kissed the back of Anthony’s hand again. “I am honored to be engaged to you.”

“You should address me as Anthony then,” the Omega offered shakily. “To make this more convincing. Or perhaps even Tony.”

“Anthony,” Gibbs said, wondering how it was he was sounding out of breath when they were standing still. “Jethro,” he pointed to himself. “Although in truth, nobody ever calls me that. But you can, if you like.” Anthony could call him whatever he wanted and Gibbs would answer.

“Jethro,” Anthony smiled and inclined his head, and the way his lips moved to make the sound of his name somehow caused Gibbs’ dick to twitch in his pants. Anthony was just so beautiful. And in this moment, he was everything to Gibbs.

Gibbs put his hand on Anthony’s cheek, cupping it gently. “Tony,” he murmured again.

They stared at each other for how long Gibbs did not know, moving closer to each other at such a slow pace that a glacier would scoff at them. Gibbs could not quite believe it, but perhaps he would be allowed to kiss the exquisite Omega, and they inched ever closer, until Schmetterling, the wolfhound with the absolute worst timing in the world, barked loudly and jumped up, putting his front paws on Anthony, breaking the spell, causing them to spring apart.

Anthony laughed guiltily. “I suppose we must make for Mr Palmer’s.”

Gibbs agreed and they mounted the horses and headed towards the undertaker’s, Anthony’s three dogs running with them, baying at the sky as if they were on a hunt. Gibbs found his spirits rising. They _were_ on a hunt. They were on the hunt for a killer, someone with an already much too high body count. And even if this engagement was not real, and was only in place temporarily, he could not object to it. The engagement might not be a real one, and might only be for the purposes of making Gibbs the bait, but the feelings that he had for the Omega were most definitely real and that, to him, was the important thing. It would at least allow him to be in Anthony’s – Tony’s – company much more, and he would take this opportunity to savor every interaction and remember every word and every touch, such that he would never again feel lonely once their engagement could be called off. He vowed to make enough memories with Anthony to last him his entire lifetime in these few days.

When they arrived at the undertaker’s, McGee had just shuffled in, still looking rumpled and half asleep, Fornell arriving soon after that. Doctor Mallard walked over to where they were standing grouped together, after sending Mr Palmer out to fetch tea for all of them, conveniently sending the young undertaker out of range of their discussion.

“My network has managed to unearth and untangle the financials of Count DiNozzo and his wife,” McGee started, pulling a sheaf of paper out of a leather bag. “It was very complicated, and we tried to work both backwards and forward, from Count DiNozzo’s end as well as the Davids’, ensuring that the trail can also be followed from the other end as well.”

“And?” Paddington demanded.

“I do not have good news,” McGee said hesitantly. “I have confirmed that Eli David paid Count DiNozzo three days prior to receiving an invitation to Mr Paddington’s ball. It was a large sum of money which we traced back to several different and cleverly concealed dummy entities, before it finally led back to Eli David.”

Anthony sighed and buried his face in his hands. “I knew it,” he murmured softly. “I knew it. We have all but confirmed that the Davids were there to kill Father and now we know that they are complicit. The DiNozzos.”

“Unfortunately, that is not all we found,” McGee’s fingers were trembling as he pulled out several pieces of paper that had been folded together.

“What else could there possibly be?” Anthony groaned, and Gibbs found himself putting a comforting hand on the small of his back, and to his great pleasure, Anthony leaned his body in towards him, taking the comfort that was offered.

“Well. I do not know how to say it, to make it less… horrible,” McGee hesitated.

“Spit it out, man,” Gibbs barked at him.

“Of course, Boss. Right away,” McGee responded, straightening his back and suddenly looking much more awake. “The DiNozzos took money from more than the Davids.”

“_What_?” Paddington gaped.

“Well, that was what took so long. We had to unsnarl all the information because there were multiple transactions to trace, but now that we have, I can confidently say that Count DiNozzo received money from at least nine different Alphas, in exchange for an invitation to Mr Paddington’s birthday ball,” McGee bit his lip after delivering this pronouncement.

“Nine of them?” Anthony’s eyes were wide with shock, his voice a breathy whisper, as if he were unable to take in a breath to speak properly.

McGee swallowed hard and nodded. “At least nine,” he murmured. “We did not go back farther than two weeks.”

Anthony’s sharply drawn breath caused Gibbs to pull him a little closer to him.

“So we cannot verify that the DiNozzos are complicit in the plot to kill Lord Paddington,” Mallard frowned. “Because they were selling invitations to Anthony’s ball to all who could afford them.”

“To the highest bidder, it seems,” McGee added.

Anthony groaned in despair, covering his face with his hands, and Gibbs pulled him even closer, trying to soothe him.

“I have learned a few things from examining Mademoiselle Benoit and her compatriots,” Mallard said after a moment where all anyone did was watch as Gibbs patted the Omega.

“Go ahead,” Paddington told the elderly doctor.

“Jeanne was most definitely the real target of the attack,” Mallard said somberly. “The others were killed quickly, with a knife and with at least two pistols.” Each pistol had one shot. “He may or may not have had the assistance of other individuals in the killing of the others of Mademoiselle Benoit’s retinue. But Jeanne, well… He strangled her with what looks to be his bare hands.”

Anthony made a pained noise at that.

“What he did to her was meant to be personal,” Mallard continued. “Just as the deaths of all of the other Alphas, with the notable exception of Eli David and Rene Benoit, were also done personally, at close quarters. The murders were personal and filled with rage. This man – and I do believe it is a man, given the size of his hands which I was able to discern from the marks left on Mademoiselle Benoit’s as well as several others’ necks – as well as the strength and endurance that he has exhibited in these murders and the fact that he has pursued them not just here in Surrey, but also in London, and on the road to Dover. And of course, in Glasgow. He is mobile and physically fit enough to travel these distances to perpetrate these crimes. He is also a man of means, or has the backing of someone with means.”

“Do you believe this to be the work of one person?” Paddington asked.

“All of the brute force murders? Yes. I believe the strangulations to be the work of one person,” Mallard nodded. “I do not quite know how the plot to assassinate Lord Paddington fits in, nor do I know why Eli David and Rene Benoit were poisoned rather than strangled or beaten. But for the brute force strangulation murders, I believe we can conclude that it is the work of one individual.”

“One mad person,” Fornell shook his head. “He has gone berserk.”

“Have you a list of the Alphas that paid for an invitation to the ball?” Anthony took a deep breath, looking up from his hands.

“I do,” McGee reluctantly handed a piece of paper to the Omega.

“There is no real correlation between the Alphas who have been murdered and those on this list,” Anthony looked down at the paper, frowning and chewing on his lower lip. “Fully half of them are still alive.”

McGee nodded. “I concur, sir.”

“Ducky, remind me to poison the rest of these people the next time I see them,” Anthony said casually.

McGee choked on his own saliva, eyes bulging almost out of his head. “Sir?” he squeaked at the same time that Ducky gave him a gentle smile and a “Of course, Anthony. As long as none of it is lethal, you know I shall always assist you.”

“Do I wish to know how much the DiNozzos have profited from the sale of these invitations?” Anthony asked, ignoring McGee’s reaction.

McGee’s eyes were wide with fear. “Probably, uh… I would say, probably not, sir.”

“But it is definitely a lot?”

“Some might even call it an obscene amount, sir.”

“I see,” Anthony handed the paper back to McGee. “I wish to go home now,” he turned to Gibbs, who nodded. But before he led Anthony out, he turned to Lord Paddington, who gestured impatiently at him to go on.

Gibbs saw Doctor Mallard’s eyes brighten when he put his arm around Anthony and the younger man cuddled even closer. Fornell was grinning from ear to ear, and McGee just looked confused. Gibbs rolled his eyes and carefully led Anthony out of the room.

“Come, Tony, I will see you home,” he murmured.

“Thank you, Jethro,” Anthony nodded and leaned into his embrace as they walked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So now we get to another of the tags I put on the story! Gibbs gets to be Tony's fake fiancé, and bait. Wheeee!
> 
> Until tomorrow! ❤️❤️


	10. Chapter 10

[](https://i.imgur.com/0igc0iy.jpg)

_“Thank you, Jethro,” Anthony nodded and leaned into his embrace as they walked away._

That was apparently all it took to inform the world that Gibbs and Anthony had come to an understanding of what the future would hold for them. No doubt Fornell would have been incredibly helpful, joyfully telling anyone that asked that they were together, and that in his opinion, this had been a long time coming. But Gibbs knew that Lord Paddington had to also have had a hand in encouraging this information to be known to the world. It also probably helped that Lord Paddington insisted that Gibbs, Abigail and Miss Todd should stay at Houghton Hall with them until this business with the murdered Alphas was stopped, and it really would be the safest option for everyone, including Abigail and Anthony if everyone was under one roof. It would be easier for Lord Paddington’s men to keep watch over them without being spread so thinly. And of course, it would also mean that the killer would have no choice but to attempt to murder Gibbs close to home. So Gibbs was, for the time being, spending the nights under the same roof as Anthony.

The news spread like wildfire in Ashford that the Paddington Omega had chosen an Alpha, and that Lieutenant Gibbs was the lucky, lucky man. Gibbs had no doubt that it would not be long before all of the ton was aware of this new development.

Count DiNozzo seemed to be resigned when the news of their engagement was broken to him by a triumphant and smug Lord Paddington. He just wordlessly reached for his glass, and a servant was never far away to refill his whiskey after that. Thereafter, Gibbs thought that DiNozzo was perhaps starting on the whiskey before even coming down to breakfast. But at that time, Gibbs could tell that Mrs DiNozzo was having trouble swallowing down her words and her fury, but given that Lord Paddington was holding their purse, she made a valiant effort. Her face turned purple and she made several choked noises, but did not say anything to Gibbs or his fiancé. Anthony watched them without emotion, although he did move to sit even closer to Gibbs during the scene. 

For the next two days, Gibbs accompanied Anthony to as many places as he could, and all of Ashford oohed and aahed, for the Omega took to wearing gowns instead of pants, with his Omega necklace displayed prominently on his chest and the jeweled clips in his hair. But he still had practical boots on his feet, despite the long skirts, instead of the more fashionable slippers that most women wore with their gowns. And while all of Ashford cooed over the fact that Anthony was embracing his feminine side, attributed to his engagement to Gibbs, the truth was that he found it much easier to hide weapons upon his person under his gown and petticoats and appear completely harmless. Gibbs knew, for a fact, that he had a small pistol strapped to the inside of one thigh, that vicious looking knife strapped to the other, and more knives tucked into his boots. The choice of boots was so that his feet would not be vulnerable, should they find themselves in a physical altercation with their quarry. It was quite practical, as Gibbs could not find as many hiding places for his own weapons. Certainly his pistol was openly displayed on his hip whilst Anthony looked completely unarmed. And the fact that despite his appearance, Anthony was secretly armed to the teeth made Gibbs hot, his palms sweaty and his cock twitch. The knowledge that Anthony was quite the opposite of how he appeared went to Gibbs’ head. Both of them.

It did not help that Anthony adorned himself, not just with the Omega necklace. He also wore those jeweled clips in his hair, including a little flower shaped clip that Abby had given to him as a ‘welcome to the family’ gift and an engagement present. The gesture had rendered Anthony speechless, looking at the contents of the box.

“Maybe Gibbs can fasten it in your hair for you?” Abby had suggested.

Anthony turned, arching an eyebrow at Gibbs.

“Of course,” Gibbs nodded, picking the little clip up. He stared into Anthony’s eyes, knowing that he was smiling like an idiot but unable to do anything about it, taking a much longer time than he should just looking at him, before he carefully affixed the clip in his hair.

Abigail was jumping up and down and clapping her hands in delight, and even Miss Todd was smiling, because Anthony was obviously affected, blushing hard and smiling shyly, one hand going into his hair to touch the clip Gibbs had just put in it.

“Do you like it?” he asked Gibbs, his voice husky.

“Very much,” Gibbs replied, resisting the urge to leave his scent on Anthony’s inviting neck.

“It is only because I have impeccable taste,” Abby said, tongue in cheek.

Anthony laughed at her words. “That is true,” he agreed.

“And of course, Mr Paddington, it suits you because you are so lovely that anything would suit you!” Abby was effusive in her praise.

Anthony blushed even brighter. He had the clip in his hair every time Gibbs saw him after that.

For two days nothing much happened. Gibbs escorted Anthony on walks around Houghton Hall, and went into Ashford with him. Even though he knew that Paddington had men discreetly following them, and for a lot of the walks Anthony’s three huge dogs were also present, they tried to make Gibbs an even bigger target. Gibbs tried to talk Anthony into letting him do some of the walking by himself to draw the killer out, but Anthony was adamant that Gibbs not risk his life even more than was necessary, even resorting to murmured threats in Spanish or Italian when Gibbs tried to insist. Even though it would have been better overall for Gibbs to be alone some of the times, Anthony’s ability to turn those big green eyes on him, giving him wordless pleas always made Gibbs’ resolve crumble. He didn’t know quite how it had happened, but he seemed to be putty in the Omega’s hands. And worse still, he did not feel the need to extract himself from Anthony’s influence.

But they did minimize the danger to the others. Gibbs refused to have a picnic with Anthony, Abigail and Miss Todd, for instance, even though Abigail tried to use her own puppy eyes to beg Gibbs. Anthony smoothed things over by telling them that they would be able to do that later, once Gibbs was no longer in danger. And that Lord Paddington was hard at work trying to find and catch the Alpha killer. Invoking Gibbs’ safety ended up being the thing that Abby responded to, and she agreed that perhaps an open air picnic would best be saved until after the danger had passed. Of course, when she tried to ask why it was Gibbs and Anthony went on walks by themselves, Anthony changed the subject and led her away from that dangerous topic.

But even though these were obligatory appearances that Gibbs was putting in with Anthony, that this was not a real engagement and that Gibbs was really only playing a dangerous game, trying to lure a murderer of multiple Alphas into the open, it did not feel at all false to him. Gibbs was truly enjoying Anthony’s company, and he relished in the opportunity to not just get to know Anthony better, but also to just bask in being in his presence. Anthony was soothing to him, filling in the empty spaces inside him that he had not even known were there. Gibbs found himself wishing that he could introduce Anthony to Shannon because he felt that they would have been great friends, and that was a strange comfort to Gibbs, feeling that Shannon would have approved of Anthony. He tried not to think about it too much because there lay madness, and besides, this engagement was of a temporary nature. Once the goal had been accomplished, he would no longer be able to address the Omega in such a familiar fashion, or be as tactile as he had been with him. No more kisses on Anthony’s hand, or brushing his soft hair back, or caressing his cheek, and certainly no more affixing flower clips in his hair. He wanted to fully appreciate being in the present, and being given permission to do these things. He would need to warm himself with only the memories of this time once the killer was apprehended and their engagement was called off. Even if Gibbs knew that he would never tire of Anthony or ever get enough of him, he had gone into this engagement knowing that it was finite and for a specific purpose. Gibbs knew he would never be done with Anthony, and once the engagement was over, he would have to be satisfied to remain a friend to him, and to watch as he fell in love with someone else and built a life with them instead of with him. Gibbs would gladly be his friend through all of this, and work very hard to keep their friendship going despite the fact that he would not be Anthony’s husband or Alpha. Gibbs would accept whatever small part he could play in the Omega’s life once they were no longer engaged.

And for his part, Anthony seemed quite at ease with Gibbs. He took Gibbs’ arm and chattered away about everything and nothing, and Gibbs realized that the man was really quite well read, in several languages, and was quite capable of carrying on a conversation about his favorite plays of William Shakespeare or the works of Plato or even such exotic works as Sun Tzu’s _The Art of War_, which Gibbs had never even heard of before, and such. Gibbs knew instinctively that Anthony had read most of these foreign works in its original language. He was quite erudite in that way. But he could also wax poetic about the newest awfulest novel, filled with romances that were quite unrealistic, that Abigail was overly fond of, and the two and Miss Todd would discuss these wretched stories at length which only made Gibbs roll his eyes.

He also learned that Anthony was an accomplished pianist, had been trained in the art of pugilism by Lord Paddington, and he really did prefer to wear men’s clothing, although – no surprise there – he felt the cravat was irksome and unnecessary. They spoke about even more personal things while they were on their walks together. Anthony told him about how it had been a very difficult time for him, when, at the age of thirteen he presented as an Omega. Lord Paddington had expected him to be an Alpha due to his childhood temperament – he claimed to have not been an easy child to manage after his mother’s death – and due to the tendency for males to be Alphas in the Paddington line. His Omega designation came as a huge surprise to everyone. Lord Paddington’s mother who had still been alive at the time had wanted to immediately raise him as a girl, but thirteen years of running around being a boy had been too much to overcome. Anthony had hated switching to behaving and being treated like a female.

After a period of strife between Anthony and his grandmother, Lord Paddington and Doctor Mallard had stood up for him and ensured not only his privacy, and that his designation be kept quiet, but that he was allowed to choose to wear whatever made him comfortable, be it pants or gowns, or something in between. In public Anthony had maintained a masculine appearance, passing as a Beta and even at times as an Alpha, especially after he had achieved his full physical growth. But at home, Paddington, who was used to the presence of Omegas having had an Omega sister, was able to give Anthony everything he needed from an Alpha, from the security of being himself, to being scent marked when he needed it, to being allowed to be educated and trained the way all boys were instead of suddenly having an education be less emphasized, and instead his prospects of marriage be what was important. Lord Paddington’s actions had been exactly what Anthony needed, because just because he was an Omega, it did not mean that he was suddenly a woman. Lord Paddington had given him his open acceptance of whoever Anthony wanted to be, and the patience to allow him to learn who he was and how he wished to comport himself.

“I would be a much different person without Father’s influence,” Anthony confided, even though he was trying not to let Gibbs see how much this affected him. “The DiNozzos would probably have sold me to the highest bidder by the time I turned fifteen, if not younger. And I would have never been given any kind of choice, or the opportunity to agree and consent. Father always made sure I knew that my fate was my own. That is a gift that I can never repay.”

“I don’t believe Lord Paddington would ask that of you. A marriage that was not of your choice.”

“No, of course he wouldn’t,” Anthony smiled at him. “He just wants me to be happy.”

“All parents do,” Gibbs assured him.

“Tell that to the Count and his lady wife,” Anthony snorted with disgust.

Gibbs had to agree with that.

The days passed in a sort of tense and expectant haze, and yet nothing consequential happened. However, the murders of the remaining Alphas seemed to have been halted, so at least they knew that Gibbs’ presumed engagement to Anthony had gotten through to the killer. There was no need to eliminate any more of the competition when there was only Gibbs, an Alpha that Anthony had chosen for himself.

Mrs DiNozzo kept staring daggers at Gibbs though, whenever they were in a room together. Gibbs felt like crowing to her that she would never be able to control Anthony’s fortune via a weak Alpha that she had chosen for him, or sold him to, as the case may be. And that as Anthony’s Alpha, there was no way Gibbs would allow her to control either Anthony or himself. But her glares intensified after one unfortunate encounter, two days into their engagement.

Gibbs walked into the drawing room expecting Abigail and Miss Todd to be there, but only Mrs DiNozzo was present. She then proceeded to behave in such a way that it made Gibbs extremely uncomfortable. Especially when she came far too close and began running her fingers up his arm, on its way to his neck, without his permission. His neck, which should only ever bear the scent of his Omega.

“Madam,” he admonished her, stepping firmly away from her reach. “This is quite improper. I am promised to Anthony.”

“He is a child,” her lips curved up and her voice lowered to a throaty purr that made Gibbs shudder with revulsion. “I am a woman. Anthony cannot compare to a real woman. Also, unlike the boy, I am experienced in the ways of pleasing a man. I would be able to give you what he cannot.” She stood in such a way that her bosoms were pushed out, rising prominently in the low cut gown that she was wearing. And while Mrs DiNozzo was a beautiful woman and her bosoms were truthfully not objectionable, Gibbs had never been interested in her in any kind of romantic or sexual manner. Not to mention that she was Anthony’s stepmother. What she was doing was obscene. It was vile.

“I assure you that Tony is everything I would ever want or need and you would do well to remember that you are married to his father. I would ask you to stay far away from my person, and Anthony’s or I shall make you regret it,” he bit out, before he exited the drawing room.

Paddington was leaning casually against the wall down the hallway from the drawing room, examining his fingernails. Gibbs tried not to startle at seeing him there, seemingly waiting for him.

“Not to worry,” Paddington straightened up and put an arm companionably around his shoulder. “The strumpet tried to seduce me not long after she married DiNozzo,” he smiled. “It was only logical that she set her sights on you, since you are to be Tony’s Alpha forthwith.”

Gibbs shuddered at the memory of her fingers attempting to reach his neck. “She is a _menace_,” he growled.

“I do agree, but Anthony is far too softhearted and will not ask them to leave,” the older Alpha shrugged. “This is his decision. What goes on in his household is not something I interfere with, no matter what I feel is best. I have always encouraged Anthony to be his own man and be responsible for his own actions, and I stand by that decision. Although I have had my suspicions that she only married DiNozzo to get close to the Paddingtons. There is no real benefit to a marriage to DiNozzo.”

“Is it possible that DiNozzo is completely unaware of what his wife is doing?”

Paddington snorted. “I have thought long and hard about this, and I do not know which possibility disturbs me more – that DiNozzo is so narcissistic and too consumed with his own petty life that he is completely unaware of her behavior, or if he is aware and he sanctions it. Perhaps even directs it.”

Gibbs shuddered at the thought.

“Better to just pretend it did not happen and do what you can to avoid ever being alone with her,” Paddington advised him, as they both retreated to Anthony’s study.

Which was what Gibbs had done, and his purposeful distance from her was what was now garnering him such glares from the woman. For his part, Anthony only seemed to be more openly affectionate with Gibbs the more she scowled at him. Gibbs knew that Anthony had to know that something was off, but he wondered if the Omega knew the truth of it. Doctor Mallard, however, ignored Mrs DiNozzo entirely and Gibbs decided that if the gentle Beta did not like the woman, then there was just cause for his own dislike of her, for Doctor Mallard was one of the kindest and most fair minded person he had ever met.

Four days passed in that strange state of heightened tension, and paradoxically, they were also the four happiest days that Gibbs could remember. He spent all his waking hours with Anthony, and even though they were not alone together very much, Gibbs always felt as if Anthony was the only person in the room. Everyone else melted away from Gibbs’ consciousness when he was around Anthony.

Once, he even came upon Anthony sleeping in his study, leaning back in his chair, his booted feet propped up on his desk, arms crossed at his chest, the skirt of his gown flowing down to the floor and exposing his very shapely calves. Doctor Mallard who was tucked into an armchair with a book quietly stood and covered Anthony’s legs with a quilt before he gestured to Gibbs to take a seat. Gibbs spent the next three quarters of an hour just staring at the Omega as he slept, his breathing deep and even, the regularity of it something Gibbs found extremely calming. It did not, however, look at all like a comfortable position to sleep in, but Anthony slept soundly for almost a full hour before he began stirring, practically falling right out of the chair while he was still mostly asleep as part of his process to awaken.

Mallard did not even flinch at the movement, suggesting that this was a common occurrence for the Omega, only offering him a cup of tea when he finally opened his eyes and put his feet on the floor, yawning and rubbing his eyes sleepily.

Gibbs could see himself doing this for years to come, pouring tea for his sleepy Omega. Perhaps he might even sneak up on the man and shock him awake, just to see him flail and fall out of the chair, but of course he would catch him before he could hurt himself. He imagined that Anthony would pout and complain while Gibbs laughed and laughed, but that everything would be solved with a kiss or two. It was a lovely fantasy and one that Gibbs would take with him after their engagement no longer became necessary.

Dinner on that fourth night had only Count DiNozzo, his angry eyed wife, Lord Paddington, Anthony and himself. Abigail and Miss Todd had been invited to dinner at a neighbor’s, no doubt they wanted to question Abigail about how things were going for Gibbs and Anthony. Gibbs had allowed them to go, but only with McGee and Fornell accompanying them, in case the killer tried to go after them. Abigail had been pleased by this development as her fondness for McGee seemed to have only increased with time, and Gibbs would have to have a long talk with McGee before things went too far. Abigail was only seventeen, and he wanted for her to grow up a little more before settling down into married life. But he did trust McGee and Fornell to protect them and wanted the men to accompany his ward, even though Paddington always sent a few of his men with them, discreetly, of course.

They were on the soup course, and Mallard was on one of his long winded stories about something obscure which only Anthony seemed to be paying attention to, chuckling softly at appropriate times, and making quiet comments back to him, when there came a loud scream which was abruptly silenced. Then a bald man dressed all in black burst into the dining room, slamming it shut and locking the door behind him.

“What is the meaning of this?” Lord Paddington demanded, rising to his feet.

The man pulled two pistols out and smiled at them. “Good evening,” he greeted everyone. “Do, please take your seat, my lord, for I am not here to kill _you_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops! A bit of a cliffhanger here!
> 
> I'll see you all tomorrow! ❤️❤️


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are you ready for a somewhat action packed chapter? 'Cause this is one 😁

[](https://i.imgur.com/BcfUncj.jpg)

_The man pulled two pistols out and smiled at them. “Good evening,” he greeted everyone. “Do, please take your seat, my lord, for I am not here to kill **you**.”_

“Mr Kort?” Anthony put his soup spoon down and a warning hand on Paddington’s arm, making the Alpha sit back down. He was still a target of an assassination attempt, after all, so Gibbs did not blame him for making his father a much smaller and less obvious target.

“You remembered my name!” the man enthused. “Oh, but of course, you do, Anthony. It is because you love me. You know that I am yours.”

“Alpha Kort, I _demand_ an explanation,” Paddington snarled.

Kort, Gibbs thought. Trent Kort had been the Alpha daring enough to kiss Anthony without his permission, and Tony had cut him down in public. He was holding them at gunpoint. Gibbs knew that he, Paddington and Anthony were also armed, but they would need to be careful in order to ensure that no one was injured in the next few moments. Especially not Anthony.

“You killed all the Alphas,” Anthony breathed softly. “_You_ are the killer.”

“You are so very clever,” Kort’s smile was proud. “You are marvelous, my Anthony. I am more in love with you than ever. And I know that you must feel the same way about me.”

“I assure you that I do _not_,” Anthony said primly. “I will remind you that I am already engaged to be married, to an Alpha that I love. One that I chose.”

“Of _course_,” Kort drew the word out. “You ‘chose’ an Alpha. I heard about it. Lieutenant Gibbs,” he spat out, pointing one of his pistols at Gibbs. “I know that you only chose him under duress, my love.”

Kort’s words hit home, though, not for the reasons that Kort thought. Of course Anthony had only chosen to be engaged to Gibbs in order to catch Kort. Gibbs knew that, had known that from the beginning, but yet Kort’s words still hurt.

“You are delusional, sir,” Anthony responded.

“I knew that you were only buying time while awaiting the completion of my tasks before I could return to claim you,” Kort continued.

Anthony’s face was a rictus of disgust.

“Why are you doing this?” Mrs DiNozzo asked.

“Because I cannot deny my feelings for Anthony anymore, and he should not be kept from me,” Kort sneered at her. “He has been in _your_ terrible clutches for long enough. He needs me. Because I would never hurt him or use him.”

“Are you implying that _we_ would hurt or use Anthony? How dare you!” Mrs DiNozzo gasped in outrage.

“Oh spare me the act,” Kort rolled his eyes. “Did you know, Lord Paddington, that this woman and her husband sold invitations to Anthony’s birthday ball?”

Count DiNozzo sighed and drained his wineglass, looking around before he realized that none of the servants were in the room and he would not be able to get his glass refilled. He picked up the tumbler of whiskey that was next to his wineglass and drained that, too.

“She was trying to sell your son to unworthy Alphas,” Kort was so angry that the veins in his neck were popping. “I cannot stand by and let that happen.”

“So what do you intend to do here?” Gibbs asked. “Kill me? Claim Anthony for yourself?”

“Do not say his given name as if you have the right to use it,” Kort snapped at him.

“Actually, now that you mention it…” Anthony started, but stopped when Gibbs kicked him under the table, not wanting Anthony to attract the deranged man’s attention more than he already had.

“Lieutenant Gibbs asks a very good question,” Mallard casually spooned some soup into his mouth, as if being confronted by a madman with a gun was something that happened to him often enough that it would not affect his appetite. Although Gibbs would have to admit that the soup _was_ quite delicious. “Other than the two Alphas who were poisoned, you have strangled all of the other Alphas. Do you honestly believe that we would stand by and allow you to strangle Lieutenant Gibbs, when we clearly outnumber you?”

“I have guns,” the man shook his pistol at Doctor Mallard who only rolled his eyes at him.

“And that will satisfy you? Shooting the Alpha that Anthony himself chose to be his will satisfy you, even though you needed to lay your own hands on the other Alphas? Even those that meant nothing to Anthony?” Mallard shrugged.

Kort stared at Ducky for a moment. “Perhaps I shall just kill you all before I strangle Gibbs.”

“And you believe that my son will accept you as his Alpha after you have killed me?” Paddington asked mildly. “And his beloved companion, Doctor Mallard, who has helped raise him from when he was but a wee lad?”

“Well…”

“I assure you that I will not be amenable to any kind of relationship with you should you decide to kill my Alpha,” Anthony interrupted him. “Either of my Alphas. Or Ducky. Or anyone else, for that matter. You have killed far too many people already. Why did you not just declare your intentions directly to me? No one needed to die.”

“I _did_ declare my intentions,” Kort insisted. “On the night of the ball. You gave me a favor and allowed me to kiss your cheek.”

“I did no such thing,” Anthony’s eyes were narrowed in anger. “You accosted me and kissed me without my permission.”

“That is not how I remembered it, my dear.”

“You are truly delusional if you believe that,” Anthony scowled.

“But you liked it, did you not?”

Anthony’s face was filled with loathing. “I did _not_,” he stated emphatically. “You took advantage of me, sir, and I did not appreciate it.”

Kort only gave Anthony a besotted smile in answer.

“Why did you use poison on Alpha David and Monsieur Benoit?” Anthony asked. “Such actions do not become you.”

“I would _never_ poison a person,” Kort said stiffly. “That is the work of a coward. All of the Alphas I killed knew I was there for them. I looked them in the eye before they died by my hand. I did not kill either David or Benoit. I knew that you would never consider either of the Davids after what that awful Ziva David did to you last year. But I did want to make her regret her insulting behavior towards you. I was planning on saving her for last and killing Miss David at your behest, my sweet Omega. A wedding present, if you will. She might have gone to ground, but I have no doubt that I will be able to hunt her down for you.”

Anthony sighed at that, muttering under his breath about why people just wouldn’t let that go.

“And Monsieur Benoit is married. It was his daughter that was fond of you,” Kort sneered. “I made sure to stop her before she could get anywhere.”

Anthony growled angrily at that one, glaring at Kort, his green eyes gleaming with fury.

“So who killed David and Benoit then?” Paddington asked hurriedly, now putting his hand on Anthony’s arm to keep the Omega seated. “Who poisoned them?”

“I do not know, but I must tell you that I found a vial of something smelling of almonds in _her_ bedchamber when I searched through the house earlier,” Kort pointed at Mrs DiNozzo.

“_What_?” Count DiNozzo turned to his wife, looking genuinely surprised. “Jennifer, are you poisoning people?”

“Benoit killed my father!” Mrs DiNozzo exploded.

“Your father killed himself!” Paddington yelled at her. “I looked into his death myself, after you married _him_.” He gestured towards the Count.

“What?” DiNozzo turned to Paddington now.

“Oh, did you actually think that I would not look into each and every one of your associates, DiNozzo? All of them, including all of your subsequent wives, were duly scrutinized, I can assure you, as were you prior to your marriage to my sister,” Paddington snapped at him.

DiNozzo subsided, paling drastically at that statement. Gibbs had to wonder what kind of dirt Paddington must have on the man to elicit such a reaction out of him.

“Why would you want to kill Monsieur Benoit?” Anthony turned to his stepmother.

“Benoit killed my father,” Mrs DiNozzo insisted. “I only returned the favor.”

“Your father took his own life,” Paddington gritted out.

“I have never believed that. My father would never have abandoned me like that, and shamed our family by taking his own life. Benoit _murdered_ my father. So he deserved to die.”

“And Eli David?”

“He ate the marzipan meant for Monsieur Benoit. That was his own fault! He was too greedy!” she said fiercely.

“Did you know what she was planning to do?” Anthony asked the Count.

“He’s a bloody fool, and too stupid to know what was going on under his nose!” Mrs DiNozzo screamed. “All he wanted was the boy’s money.”

“It is _my_ money!” Count DiNozzo yelled back.

“This is all quite terribly complicated,” Doctor Mallard lamented, still slurping his soup.

“I feel the need to remind everyone that I _told_ you that the poisoning was unrelated,” Anthony leaned back in his chair, looking a tad bit smug.

In all the commotion, Kort did not notice the door opening silently behind him, and the butt of a rifle came down hard on his bald pate, causing him to crumple to the floor. Mrs Osgood came in, brandishing the musket, her cap askew on her head, and Harris came in after her, blood running down his temple.

“Oh, Harris!” Anthony stood, running over to him and pressing his napkin to Harris’s temple. “What did Kort do to you? Mrs Osgood! Are you hurt?”

“Are you alright, Master?” Mrs Osgood pulled him in for a quick hug.

“Nobody harmed you?” Harris asked.

“I am perfectly fine,” Anthony assured them both. He imparted a sharp kick with his booted foot to Kort’s ribs and then another more vicious one to his head when the Alpha started groaning and moving on the floor. Kort slumped down unmoving after that. Gibbs could not help the jolt of desire that went through him at Anthony’s ferocity. “Stay down,” Anthony told the prone body.

“Well… I confess that that was a little anticlimactic,” Mallard complained.

“Are you saying that I should have let him hurt someone else?” Mrs Osgood asked the good doctor.

“Oh, no, no, of course not,” Mallard shook his head. “You absolutely did the right thing, Mrs Osgood. Although I would have been interested in watching the fisticuffs between Lieutenant Gibbs and Mr Kort.”

“I daresay Gibbs would have won handily,” Paddington commented.

“Mmm. Perhaps. Although one can never underestimate the strength in someone suffering the kind of delusions that Mr Kort seemed to have,” Mallard added. “Why, when I was in the service, the young lad was a stripling, really. Barely eighteen, quite malnourished, and yet during a bout of delusion, he actually severely injured three men, larger and stronger than Lieutenant Gibbs here. Singlehandedly. We had much trouble restraining him, and when he finally came back to himself, he had no memory of the incident.”

“Well, then it would have been an interesting bout.”

“This is what I am saying. It would have been interesting to wager on it.”

Gibbs couldn’t help but shake his head at the conversation between Paddington and Mallard, and a bark of laughter burst out of him. He had thought that retiring from the Marines and moving to the countryside would have been boring and overly quiet, but he could not have been more wrong.

“I need more whiskey,” Count DiNozzo called out.

“Fetch it yourself,” Mrs Osgood huffed at him.

Paddington’s men came in and secured Kort’s wrists and ankles, hog tying him. Paddington also directed two men to take Mrs Jennifer DiNozzo née Shepard into custody for the crime of murdering Eli David and Rene Benoit. She was still on her tirade about Rene Benoit, and how he had murdered her father, and also about the uselessness of Count DiNozzo as a husband, and how ungrateful Anthony was to be her stepson.

After Mrs DiNozzo and Trent Kort were removed from the house, Paddington informed them that two of the men guarding Houghton Hall had been found dead, their throats cut, which was how Kort had managed to gain entry into the house. Harris had been coshed on the head, and Mrs Osgood tied up and gagged, but Mrs Osgood managed to wriggle out of the rope and that was when she and Harris had come to rescue them. DiNozzo, who was still smarting at how Mrs Osgood had refused to refill his whiskey was grumbling about her, and causing Paddington to glare at him.

“Do you think that we did not know that you sold invitations to Anthony’s birthday ball?” Lord Paddington growled at him. “We will be discussing the consequences of this action at my leisure.”

DiNozzo froze, staring at Lord Paddington, until Paddington dismissed him, warning him to stay in the house pending the investigation into his wife. The Count ended up picking up the entire decanter of whiskey and disappearing from the dining room. Paddington sent men to search through Mrs DiNozzo’s chambers to locate the poison and to keep an eye on DiNozzo.

“Well,” Mallard rubbed his hands together. “Nasty bit of business that.”

Paddington nodded in agreement.

“But all’s well that ends well,” Mallard smiled, patting Anthony on his back.

“Shall I bring the next course in, young Master?” Mrs Osgood asked Anthony.

The Omega looked around and his uncle nodded, as did Doctor Mallard. Gibbs wanted to leave it up to him. It had been a bit of an emotional upheaval for the poor man and he would understand if he wished to cut dinner short.

“If you don’t mind,” Anthony nodded to Mrs Osgood. “I suppose we should not let this spoil our dinner.”

“No, you should not,” Mrs Osgood patted him reassuringly and Gibbs held his chair out and helped him take his seat.

Dinner resumed, and the conversation remained about the murders. The fact that Mrs DiNozzo had been responsible for two of the murders had surprised everyone, although Anthony maintained that the surprise was in the who had done it and the motive for it, as he had been the only one insisting that the poisonings had been done by a separate killer. They had thought the deaths linked though, so everybody had been wrong about that.

After dinner, they decided to take their drinks into the drawing room where they could relax in the aftermath of what had happened. Anthony sat on a love seat, putting a small side table that had a rather large arrangement of flowers in between himself and Gibbs. He pulled up his skirt, and released the pistol holstered on his thigh, putting it on the side table, right by the vase filled with fragrant flowers. He blew out a long sigh of relief when he lowered his skirt and leaned back against the cushioned back of the love seat.

“Are you tired?” Gibbs asked him solicitously.

“A little,” he smiled. “But mostly I am so happy to take the dashed thing off because it was starting to chafe the inside of my leg.”

Doctor Mallard chuckled at that. “Do you need a poultice to put on the area, my boy?”

“It’s not that bad,” Anthony smiled at his chaperon. “But I am happy that the murders have been solved.”

“And the murderers captured,” Paddington raised his glass.

“Hear, hear,” Mallard agreed.

“I will be able to take Abigail and Miss Todd home,” Gibbs nodded.

“Oh, but surely there is no rush,” Mallard gave him a soft smile. “Perhaps you and Anthony may enjoy some shall we say, less armed to the teeth walks around Houghton Hall. Get to know one another better before you wed.”

“Uh…” Gibbs looked at Anthony, who was suddenly looking at his feet, ears slowly turning red.

“Well, in that case,” Paddington cleared his throat. “I suppose I, too, can return to Derbyshire. And let Lieutenant Gibbs and Tony have some time together. Now that the danger is over.”

Gibbs gave Lord Paddington a sharp look. What was he implying? That they not break their engagement?

“Wait, but we have not yet resolved the issue of the credible warning at an attempt on your life, Father,” Anthony’s head popped up as he frowned at the Alpha. “Ziva David has somehow escaped. We still do not know what she is plotting.”

“Perhaps Kort has already killed her,” Paddington suggested.

“He would have said so,” Anthony frowned. “He said he was saving her for last as a gift for me, remember? Besides, he did not think that the Davids were true rivals for my affection.”

“More’s the pity,” Mallard sighed. “It would have been so much easier if he had killed Miss David as well.”

“Perhaps it was a false warning?” Gibbs offered.

“Or perhaps they called it off, after Eli David’s death?” Paddington agreed.

“Hmmh,” Anthony folded his arms in front of him. “In my experience, nothing is ever so easy.”

“They are probably re-grouping and working out a new plan to end my life,” Paddington casually sipped his drink, as if he wasn’t discussing a plot to assassinate himself. “I’m sure we will find her before too long.”

“At least wait until Balboa returns so you can have him by your side,” Anthony scowled. “Stay here for the time being. Besides, it was my birthday, and it was rather stressful. Do you not think that I deserve to have the company of my father for a few, quiet, peaceful days on the occasion of my twenty fifth birthday?”

“Are you using your Omega wiles on me, son?” Paddington ask.

“Is it working?” Anthony asked hopefully.

Paddington laughed at that. “Ah, truly, you are my son,” his smile was wide.

Doctor Mallard got up to refill his glass, collecting both Paddington’s and Gibbs’ glasses. He went to the sideboard where the liquor was kept, pouring the libations with his back to the open window by the sideboard, still chatting away. A slight figure dressed in tight fitting black shirt and pants hopped in through the open window and before Gibbs or anyone else could react, had Mallard by the neck, a pistol pointed to his head. The figure pulled the mask off and a mass of curly black hair was freed.

“Miss David?” Paddington scowled.

“Speak of the devil,” Mallard choked out.

“Hello,” she said in her accented English. “How very convenient it is for me that you are all here together. I must insist that you all disarm right this minute.”

Paddington tried to object, but Miss David pressed the barrel of the pistol to Ducky’s forehead and made a threatening noise, and Paddington raised his hands in surrender. He caught both Gibbs’ and Anthony’s eye, before he slowly unholstered his pistol and put it on the floor.

“You as well, Lieutenant Gibbs,” Miss David insisted pleasantly.

Snarling under his breath, Gibbs complied.

“Kick the pistols out of reach, please,” she requested politely, and both Gibbs and Paddington did so.

She smiled at them after that, pulling out a second pistol and pointing it at Anthony, but she did not ask him to disarm. Apparently, she was under the same impression that everyone else was that Anthony was not someone to worry about as he was only a helpless little Omega. Gibbs knew for a fact that despite the fact that he had earlier put his own pistol on the table, he still had several knives about his person, including one he could throw in his boot. He was as far from helpless as anyone could be. But Gibbs understood why being underestimated would be a benefit in many situations.

“Why are you here?” Anthony asked.

“Do not worry, my little hairy buttocks,” she smiled at him. “I will not bruise your precious heart again.”

“_Please_,” Anthony rolled his eyes. “Why does everyone keep thinking that you bruised my heart? People give you far too much credit for that. At the most you hurt my feelings a little. And for the record, since I am an Omega, I do not have the body hair normal for most males, and I certainly do not have hairy buttocks. That is slanderous, Miss David. I demand you take that statement back.”

“Stands to reason she would not know that if she hasn’t seen your buttocks, my dear Anthony,” Mallard commented, sounding quite calm, even though there was a pistol pointed at his head.

“_Enough_!” Miss David snapped. “I am here to kill all of you, of course.”

“I thought the plot was to kill _me_?” Paddington asked. “Why all of us now? How does that benefit anyone?”

“The original plot was for your death alone,” Miss David agreed. “But after the death of my father, I have decided that none of you shall be allowed to live.”

“_We_ didn’t kill your father,” Gibbs objected. “That was entirely outside of our control.”

“Nevertheless,” she shrugged. “I must avenge his death. In addition, killing all of you will make it look as if Mr Kort had a secret accomplice, who ended up taking revenge on all of you after he was arrested this evening. It will allow me to escape without anyone on my route.”

“_Trail_,” Anthony corrected. “Without anyone on your trail. Not route.”

“How tiresome you are,” Miss David glared at the Omega.

“Get the word right, so I won’t have to correct you,” Anthony retorted.

“How do you propose killing all of us without one of us harming you or calling for help?” Paddington asked.

“Well, since you apprehended Mr Kort this evening, your usual guards have been called off,” she bared her teeth in a smug smile. “Your footman has been sent to bed with a sore head, and the housekeeper has retired to her quarters. She is an interesting one, Lord Paddington. I quite like her. But she has gone back to her quarters. Far away from here. You are quite vulnerable right now, Lord Paddington.”

“Why do you wish to kill me?” Paddington wanted to know.

“You are only the first,” her smile turned malevolent. “In order to topple the King, you must be the first to go.”

“But Spain is an ally of the King,” Gibbs objected.

“We do not have allegiance to any one country,” she shrugged. “But if we play our cards right, we shall place one of our own to rule in all of the kingdoms of Europe. This is how we will rule the world.”

Gibbs tried not to sigh. One of these conspiracy people, although in all fairness, she seemed to have gotten farther in this than many others he had heard the rumors of. But she was not wrong. Their strategy was sound. Paddington controlled information and had a network of spies spread throughout the world. The King’s armed forces acted on the intelligence that Paddington provided, and it was by and large the reason that the King’s men were so effective all over the world. Furthermore, Paddington supported the King himself, keeping him safe. Without him, the King would be much more vulnerable.

“You realize that we cannot allow you to do this?” Gibbs asked, even though it was a rhetorical question. His eyes were scanning the room, trying to see what he could use as a weapon. The pistols were unfortunately well and truly out of his reach. He had knives, but they were not throwing knives and he was not known for his accuracy at knife throwing. And besides, with Doctor Mallard as a human shield, he did not trust that a thrown knife would not harm Mallard instead. He needed to get close to Miss David to effectively use his knives and he did not see her allowing that to happen.

He gazed at Anthony for a long moment, wondering how it was they would get themselves out of this situation without injury to anyone, and saw Anthony’s eyes flick very quickly to the side table.

Anthony’s pistol, the one that he had unstrapped from his thigh earlier, was on the table, within easy reach of both himself and Anthony. It was hidden behind the flower arrangement and Gibbs gave him a small nod. He understood what Tony was saying. Either one of them would be able to take advantage of the pistol, if they could create a window of opportunity, perhaps some kind of distraction.

“Just for that, I shall leave you for last,” Miss David told him, smiling cheerfully.

“Young lady, this is quite ridiculous,” Ducky complained.

“I asked you to stay still,” she dug the barrel of the pistol into his temple as hard as she could, making the elderly gentleman wince. She turned to the others and sighed. “As pleasant as this was, I believe it is time for our meeting to end.”

“Miss David…” Gibbs and Lord Paddington both tried to stall her.

The next moments went by incredibly quickly. Doctor Mallard stomped his heel on Miss David’s foot as he simultaneously pushed the arm pointing the pistol to his head upwards, and the shot fired harmlessly into the ceiling. She screamed and fired her second pistol at Lord Paddington. Gibbs could see movement in the corner of his eye, but he had something else to do. In a flash, he grabbed Anthony’s pistol from the side table and fired it at her. Ziva David jerked backwards, a hole appearing in her forehead, falling to the ground like a marionette with its strings cut off. Gibbs felt a moment of satisfaction at seeing the woman dead, blood pooling under her.

But there had been a pained cry and the sound of a body falling next to him, and when Gibbs turned to look, Paddington had caught Anthony, who had apparently thrown himself in front of his uncle to protect him. Blood was blooming on the dress, on Anthony’s side, the patch growing larger and larger.

“Tony!” Paddington called his son’s name in anguish.

“Anthony?” Gibbs watched as his Omega slowly crumpled to the floor, gently guided down by his adopted father.

“No, no, no, no,” Paddington was begging now. “Stay with me, Tony. _Ducky! Do_ something!”

Gibbs had no memory of how he got there, but he found himself holding Anthony’s hand while Paddington settled him on the floor, cradling his body.

Anthony’s eyelids fluttered and he gave Paddington a sweet smile. “Father,” he whispered. “Are you all right?”

“I am perfectly fine, you reckless boy!” Paddington chided him. “I can’t believe you did that! I am fine, but _you_ are _not_.” His voice broke at the last word.

“Good,” he whimpered when Gibbs pressed down on his wound, not wanting him to bleed out. “Lieutenant Gibbs.”

“I asked you to call me by my name before, Tony,” Gibbs told him.

“Jethro,” his smile faltered, and he swallowed with difficulty. “Are you all right?”

“I am unharmed, Tony,” Gibbs assured him.

“Did you get her?” he asked.

“I did. She is quite dead.”

He nodded and made a small sound of pain. “It hurts…” he gasped breathlessly. He was panting now, struggling to breathe normally.

“Stay with me, sweetheart,” Paddington told him grimly. “Stay right here with me. I have you. I have you, Tony.”

Ducky was yelling down the hall for someone to bring him his medical bag before he ran back to where both Alphas were holding the injured Omega. Gibbs watched as Anthony’s eyes rolled to the back of his head and he stopped responding to his or anyone else’s words. Paddington and Gibbs were both calling his name, trying to get him to open his eyes again.

“He’s still breathing,” Mallard barked. “Put him down, Paddington, and let me do my work.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was really trying to write the typical stiff-upper lip type conversations at the dinner table, unruffled and hopefully still good humored regardless of what happens. Well, except for the end of the chapter? They kind of got a bit ruffled there. I guess I somehow ended up with another cliffhanger here? Oooops? *grins guiltily*
> 
> Tune in tomorrow to see what happens! ❤️❤️


	12. Chapter 12

[](https://i.imgur.com/0igc0iy.jpg)

Doctor Mallard forced Paddington to come with him where they washed their hands thoroughly before Paddington assisted Doctor Mallard in surgically removing the bullet that was lodged in Anthony’s side while Gibbs held Anthony’s hand and murmured comfortingly to him, even though he was completely unconscious. Finally, Mallard leaned back with a tired sigh. Anthony’s wound had been cleaned and sutured, but even so, it was still bleeding sluggishly. Every cloth they put on it came out bloody. Paddington carried the still form of the injured Omega to his room and ever so gently placed him on the bed. Mallard shooed everyone else out other than himself, Paddington and Mrs Osgood so they could make the unconscious man more comfortable without letting everyone invade his privacy.

The next few days, though, were fraught. Anthony was still alive, but just barely. They had saved his life, but a terrible fever was now raging through him. Gibbs had seen enough of his men suffer through this fever, never to awaken again. Anthony’s room was awash with the smell of fever and sickness, and sometimes Gibbs thought that he could smell the putrid scent of infection which almost completely masked Anthony’s natural scent of strawberries. This bothered Gibbs more than he would have thought possible. Anthony should never smell so sick, and should always smell of fresh strawberries and the rain on a meadow.

Mallard insisted that anyone approaching Anthony wash their hands as thoroughly as they could, and almost bit Fornell’s head off when he suggested the use of leeches, using the technique of bloodletting to assuage his fever.

“The boy has lost too much blood already!” Mallard’s blue eyes were angry. “He cannot afford to lose any more blood. And besides, bloodletting, hah!” he sneered. “I have dissected enough cadavers to tell you that bloodletting does far more harm to a body than most people believe it does. He shall not be fed to the leeches. Not while I am alive.”

Fornell was suitably chastised.

Count DiNozzo took one look at his bloodied son, paled, and immediately packed his things, running off to London while he let others care for his own flesh and blood. In truth, Gibbs was relieved that he was gone. He had the uncontrollable urge to pound the man into a bloody pulp for all the things he had done to hurt poor Anthony during the man’s lifetime.

Paddington and Gibbs took turns sitting at Anthony’s bedside, holding his limp hand, running a wet cloth soaked in cool water over his face, neck and chest, working to reduce his temperature. Abigail sat with him at times, trying to read to him, even though she was mostly overcome with tears. She had been most upset when she returned from her dinner to find Anthony so severely injured. Gibbs was glad though, that she had missed all of the action. Things could have gone much worse if Abigail and Miss Todd had been home.

After three days, Paddington had been forced to return to London where his duties called. Balboa, who was the one Anthony trusted to protect his uncle had been called back from wherever he might have been, and Paddington needed to start looking into the Davids in more detail. He needed to find all of the members of this conspiracy to ensure not just his own safety, but more importantly, the safety of His Majesty, the King. But he was only convinced to leave when Gibbs promised him that he would send news of Anthony to him at least twice a day, reporting every little detail, because that had been what they had been doing when one took over from the other, stationing themselves by Anthony’s side. These words had been their only comfort.

After Paddington’s departure, Gibbs stayed by Anthony’s side all day and all night, taking short breaks to do only the necessary things. An outpouring of sympathy came from all of Ashford. Gibbs had almost gone to Mr Palmer’s one night to hack Ziva David’s body to pieces in a fit of rage, but the idea of leaving Anthony, even for that long, had been unthinkable. So he stayed with him instead of carrying out the worst atrocities he could to dismember and destroy the body of the woman who had harmed Anthony so.

Abigail brought him food and drink herself, sitting with them both and continuing to read the most awful novel out loud to Anthony from time to time. But the fever continued to rage, and it well near was killing Gibbs to watch Anthony murmur nonsensically in the throes of the fever, sometimes struggling and flailing about the bed, as if he were trying to escape whatever nightmares might be plaguing him. He called out to his mother, more than once, and for Paddington as well, as it was clear that he was not calling for DiNozzo when he said ‘father’. His panicked cries were almost too much to bear, and Gibbs found himself rumbling soothingly to the Omega as he ran the cool, wet cloth over his face, neck and chest, as Anthony fought the terrible fever.

Doctor Mallard was changing his bandages multiple times a day for he was still bleeding through them, albeit a slow bleed. Gibbs saw the stitched up wound only once, and he could clearly see that it was red, swollen and inflamed. Mallard coaxed the Omega to sip a tea that he had laced liberally with ginger and honey, every so often, trying to ensure that he did not waste away during this time. And Gibbs wrote his letters to Paddington while he was seated by Anthony’s bedside, sending it via express twice a day, as he had promised.

It was not till a week after Paddington had gone back to London that Gibbs woke up from an unexpected nap in a panic when he realized that he could not hear Anthony’s usual fever-ridden mumblings and restless stirring in the bed. He sat up in his chair, heart pounding at the silence. He refused to believe that Anthony could have died, because he had held on for so long. Surely, surely the heavens would not claim him after he had fought so hard to stay alive. Surely fate would not be so cruel as to take away such a magnificent creature.

Gibbs’ heart was in his throat, and he watched as the pale figure laid so still on the bed. Relief flooded his body when he realized that Anthony’s chest was rising up and down in a slow and even manner. Gibbs immediately put his hand on his forehead, and thanked god when he felt that it was much cooler to the touch than it had been since the events of ten days ago. Much less clammier, too.

He immediately rang the bell and started wiping Anthony clean of the dried sweat.

Ducky – as Gibbs was starting to call the doctor – hurried into the room.

“I believe he is better,” Gibbs told him.

Ducky examined the Omega and his relief was palpable. He turned to Gibbs, eyes filled with tears. “I do believe you are right, Jethro,” he smiled. “I do believe that our boy will make it.”

“There was never any question,” Gibbs growled.

“Of course, of course you’re right,” Ducky’s smile was huge, even though he was still a little tearful.

“I must write to Paddington.”

“You do that,” Ducky told him. “Take your writing things out, and please ask Mrs Osgood to come in here. We will have to wash him and ensure that he does not wake up to an unpleasant bed. And while you are out, I would strongly suggest that you avail yourself of a bath, my dear Jethro, for you are quite ripe.”

Gibbs nodded, smiling at the doctor. He took Anthony’s hand and dropped soft kisses on the back of it, not caring that Ducky was still in the room. “I’ll be back soon, baby,” he whispered in Anthony’s ear, before he exited the room.

Later that afternoon, a fully clean and refreshed Gibbs was back in the room with the now clean bedclothes, and Anthony himself had been wiped down and cleansed as well. He had slept through the entire ordeal, according to Ducky, who was happily brewing more of that ginger tea. He left a cup by the bedside, ordering Gibbs to help Anthony drink it when he finally awoke.

Gibbs had been watching Anthony’s face intently the entire afternoon, until he finally began stirring, his eyelids fluttering. His pallid cheeks were beginning to flush and Gibbs put a gentle hand on his forehead and face, afraid that it was a return of the fever.

“Father?” Anthony mumbled.

“He is on his way, my love,” Gibbs assured him, rumbling to soothe the Omega.

“He’s all right?” Anthony asked. “He wasn’t shot?”

“Do you not recall? He is perfectly fine, other than worried out of his head about you,” Gibbs answered, refraining from running his hand down Anthony’s neck. Even though he had been wiping Anthony’s neck down with a cool cloth for days, effectively smearing his own scent on the man, he did not want to continue to do so now that Anthony was better. At least, not without Anthony’s express permission. It occurred to Gibbs to wonder why Paddington had not objected to Gibbs actions of combining his scent with Anthony’s and Paddington’s while he had been there, but of course they had been far too concerned with Anthony’s well being to care about societal norms. “He will be here soon.”

Anthony’s eyelids fluttered for a moment before he finally got them open. “Gibbs?” he murmured, frowning at him.

“I thought I gave you permission to use my name, Tony,” Gibbs smiled at him, squeezing his hand.

“Jethro,” he wet his lips with his pink tongue.

Gibbs beamed at him, happy to hear his name pass Anthony’s lips one more time. “How do you feel, my love?”

“Thirsty…”

Gibbs helped him drink the cup of tea that Ducky had left for him, even though the Omega made a face at its taste. He drank most of the cup, and Gibbs rang the bell so that Ducky would come to the room.

“Better?” Gibbs asked, as he helped the weakened man lie back and get comfortable.

“Mmhmm,” Anthony nodded. “What happened? My father is alive?”

“You saved his life,” Gibbs praised him. “But you paid a price. You were shot.”

Anthony sighed. “But is everyone else well?”

“Everyone is perfectly fine except for you. And _Ziva David_,” Gibbs bit out the name.

“You shot her?”

“With your gun.”

“Dead?”

“She is quite dead. I made sure of it.”

“Good,” Anthony smiled, dimples creasing his cheeks, and Gibbs couldn’t stop himself from pulling Anthony’s hand up and kissing it softly.

“You frightened us all,” Gibbs told him, his voice soft. “We thought we had lost you.”

“Can’t get rid of me so easily,” Anthony was running out of breath, saying all these words, but he was smiling faintly. “Father had to leave?”

“He is hunting down the people who were working with Ziva David and her father,” Gibbs growled. “He has already arrested three of their co-conspirators. I have sent for him and he will be home to see you soon.”

“Good,” Anthony sighed. His eyelids were drooping, and he was struggling to stay awake.

“Wait for Ducky, Tony,” Gibbs told him, rubbing his arm gently. “Stay awake for another minute so Ducky can speak to you and make sure you are on the mend.”

He nodded, swallowing with difficulty. “So tired,” he murmured.

“I know, baby. You just have to stay awake a little longer. You will get to sleep after this, I promise,” Gibbs assured him.

Luckily Ducky and Mrs Osgood arrived and Gibbs was shooed out of the room again so the doctor could treat his patient. Gibbs found himself walking to the drawing room where Abigail, Miss Todd and McGee were sitting.

“He was awake for several minutes,” Gibbs announced, unable to help the smile on his face.

“He was lucid?” McGee asked. He, too, had seen others of their brethren not wake up from these fevers, or sometimes waking up changed in the head.

“Quite lucid,” Gibbs smiled. “He remembered most of what happened the other day.”

“Ooooooh thank goodness!” Abby threw herself into Gibbs’ arms and hugged him. “I am so happy to hear this!” she began weeping into his chest. “I was so afraid for him.”

“Hush, Abs,” Gibbs soothed her, rubbing her back gently. “Doctor Mallard is quite optimistic of his recovery now.”

There was a collective sigh of relief at that.

Lord Paddington arrived on horseback, rushing back to Ashford as soon as he could get away from his work, before the sun went down. Gibbs was not privy to their reunion, but he could see how Paddington’s eyes were red and a little swollen afterwards, and he knew that it must have been an emotional time for both men.

Anthony had saved his father’s life, throwing himself in front of the bullet meant for Paddington. Anthony was a hero. And yet, Paddington had been forced to keep it quiet, letting it be known that Anthony had been shot during a botched attempt on Paddington’s life, allowing the public to believe that he had been shot in error rather than in a heroic move to save his adopted father’s life. Gibbs understood why, though, for not only was Paddington trying to keep Anthony’s secrets, but also he needed to start working on eradicating the rest of the group of people working with the Davids. And Gibbs knew that despite the fact that Paddington loved his son, he also knew that Anthony was still a valuable asset, but only if people did not know the true nature, the training and the depth of knowledge, of his Omega son. As much as Paddington did not want Anthony to remain in their profession, Gibbs knew that neither man would deny that they had a duty to the Kingdom and both men would give their lives to protect it. It was an oath that Gibbs himself had taken and adhered to for many years so he understood Paddington’s dilemma.

And besides, he thought that Paddington or anyone else would have no success of convincing Anthony to do something he was not willing to do, or of convincing him not to do something he did wish to do. Especially something that he thought of as a duty. Paddington had managed to instill a sense of duty in his son that was quite admirable. Gibbs had come to realize that not only was Tony beautiful inside and out, but he was also a force of nature. He knew what he wanted, and he worked to obtain it. He was no cosseted and spoiled Omega. He was a man of action. It was one of the things that made him even more beautiful to Gibbs.

Gibbs wanted so much to do everything for him, to protect him from the world, but he knew that such a thing would not be welcome. Not from him, not from Paddington, not from anyone else. It was probably the reason why Paddington and he seemed to get along so well. They shared this impulse to protect Anthony, and also the knowledge that Anthony would not at all welcome this type of action by either of them. Or in truth, anyone else. And as maddening as Gibbs found that, he could also not help admiring it. Every aspect of the Omega was captivating. Gibbs was indeed, his captive.

Paddington stayed several days, during which time Anthony mostly spent his days sleeping. He was still quite weak and in need of much rest. Paddington briefed him, Gibbs, Ducky, McGee on what had happened in his investigation and who were part of this conspiracy that they knew of. Fornell had returned to his men in Devonshire. McGee expressed interest in helping Paddington with this work, and Paddington had him seconded to his shadowy team.

Gibbs was relieved at that. McGee was a little bit of an odd duck. He was not a career soldier like Gibbs or Fornell were. Despite all their training, he was still a little on the pudgier side, still stammering and stuttering. But he was clever. That had been his talent and why Gibbs had kept him at his side. He could protect the boy as well as take advantage of his ideas. He also knew that McGee was only serving in the Royal Marines because his father was Lord Admiral McGee of the Royal Navy, and his father had apparently decided that he was unfit to serve in the Navy. Gibbs had long thought that McGee had joined the Marines in a desperate bid to prove to his imperious father that he was fit to be a military man, and that his father had been wrong to cast him away from such a profession. Paddington’s organization, however, seemed to be a good fit for McGee’s talents. He was good at sussing out information and coming up with ideas and plans. That was much more valued in Paddington’s organization than in a strictly militaristic operation. McGee would fit in better with Paddington’s people, Gibbs thought. And he liked the idea that the boy would learn from such a man.

Of course, before McGee left with Paddington, he declared his intentions toward Abigail to Gibbs.

“I wanted you to know that I love her, Boss,” he was stammering so hard he could barely get the words out. “I am in love with her. I wish to spend the rest of my life as her husband.”

“She is too young.”

“I know that, but I shall wait for her,” he told Gibbs, his eyes bulging with sincerity and hope. “I am willing to wait for her as long as it takes. She is everything to me now.”

“You had better not break her heart.”

“I won’t, Boss!”

Gibbs grunted, and McGee took that to be permission and blessing. And Gibbs could already hear Abigail squealing in happiness. He rolled his eyes and gave them a moment alone to say goodbye before McGee departed with Paddington and his men.

Paddington had a few words for Gibbs, too, before they left.

“I would like for you to continue to stay here while Anthony is too weak to defend himself properly,” he told Gibbs, his eyes serious. “Now that I am working to uncover more of this dastardly plot, I cannot be here myself, nor can I spare many men to watch over him.”

Gibbs nodded. “I would give my life to protect him, my Lord.”

“I know you would, Gibbs,” Paddington patted his arm. “This is why I am asking you to help me.”

“I shall stay.”

“Thank you.”

“My lord?” Gibbs had to know.

“Yes?”

“Do you not worry that people will talk even more about Anthony and myself, once we let it be known that we are no longer engaged?”

Paddington gave him a very long look, lips pursed thoughtfully. “You love him, do you not?”

Gibbs felt his face heat up and a blush rise. “Very much, sir,” he bit out.

“Then no, I do not worry about such talk,” Paddington shrugged. “People will always talk. You are a good man, and you love my son. I cannot ask for more than that. Happiness is what I have always wanted for Tony. Happiness and love. Someone who makes him happy, someone who loves him for exactly who he is, and someone who will care for him and protect him without diminishing him as a person, for he is a capable man.”

“He does not love me, my Lord,” Gibbs cleared his throat. “And I do not wish to impose my affections on someone when it is not welcome.”

“Are you so sure that your affections are not welcome?”

“We agreed that this engagement would be temporary.”

Paddington snorted at that.

“And Anthony has made it extremely clear that he does not need an Alpha.”

“He might not _need_ an Alpha, but perhaps he might _want_ one, if it is the right one?” Paddington smiled at that. “I advise you to speak honestly to my son. Tell him how you feel, and let him decide what it is he wants or does not want. Are you not presuming to speak for him when you make such statements? Do you think Tony would appreciate that?”

Gibbs shrugged.

“Speak to him as you have with me. With honesty and with emotion,” Paddington clapped Gibbs on his back again. Hard, this time. “It may surprise you. Oh, and Gibbs? Do not hurt him, for I do have many men who will obey me without question should I order your death.” He laughed, as if it was a joke, but Gibbs knew that to be a true statement and a credible threat.

[](https://i.imgur.com/ivk5VAD.jpg)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel the need to say I told you that the Major Character Death isn't Tony or Gibbs 😁
> 
> There are only two more chapters after this, so I'll see you guys tomorrow for the penultimate chapter!
> 
> Thank you for all the lovely comments, you guys. You rock!! ❤️❤️


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're starting to wrap up the story now!

[](https://i.imgur.com/0igc0iy.jpg)

Paddington’s words echoed through Gibbs’ head for several days while Gibbs sat with Anthony and kept him company during his convalescence. Gibbs knew that Paddington was right, and that he had made entirely good points. Especially the bit about Anthony making his own choices and decisions. It would be presumptuous of Gibbs to decide for a grown man in that way. But the thought of making himself so vulnerable to Anthony was daunting. Gibbs would rather go into full battle with naught but a dull knife rather than open himself up to someone and risk being mortally wounded again, in the way he had been after his wife and daughter had died. But as Paddington had pointed out, Anthony deserved to know the truth. Gibbs just had to find the courage to speak, and the correct time to do it. For Anthony was becoming impatient and irritable at being forced into bedrest and less and less amenable to thoughtful conversations.

Things at Houghton Hall were going smoothly. Or as smoothly as it could be, given that Anthony turned out to be an awful patient. He was disgusted with his own weaknesses and frailties, refusing to rest much once he started to feel a little better. Ducky was heard to chastise him often and threaten him even more, ordering him to stay in bed until the medical professional that was Doctor Donald Mallard told him that he was well enough to begin shambling about the house without falling over in a dead faint. Anthony could be heard arguing with Ducky almost constantly.

“I shall let you roam about the house when you do not pass out just trying to get to the chamber pot!” Ducky yelled.

“I’d get to the chamber pot if you stopped putting it so far away from the bed!” Anthony roared back.

“I am going to have to restrain you to the bed, Anthony!”

“I’d like to see you try!”

“Do not make me get Mrs Osgood in here to help me truss you up like a fowl to be roasted!”

“Mrs Osgood would let me be up and about as I asked, Ducky!”

And so it would go. The house staff, including Mrs Osgood, knew better than to get in between such vehement discussions and could not be found when either party tried to engage them in their arguments. Often, Ducky would end up sedating Anthony in order to ensure that the man was sufficiently rested, and Gibbs could not help but agree with his methods, given how recalcitrant he was being. Besides, Anthony on laudanum was hilarious. He was very chatty, talking mostly nonsensically, but he was always so happy and cheerful, contrasting drastically with what was becoming his new normal, where he was constantly grumpy and irritable.

But after several days, Anthony turned to whining pathetically at how beautiful it was outside, and how sunny and wonderful it looked. And how much he missed being in the fresh air. And wouldn’t fresh air be exactly what someone in his condition would need?

Gibbs watched as Anthony played on everything he knew about Ducky to wear him down, for wear him down he did. Ducky was seen speaking quietly to Mrs Osgood and when Gibbs was summoned to Anthony’s room, he saw that Anthony was dressed, if one could call it that. He had on a warm woolen dress, meant for winter, and a muslin shirt over it as well as a great coat. A warm bonnet was tied snugly around his chin, but Gibbs could still see the flower clip, the one Abigail had given him, peeping out from under the bonnet, affixed securely in his hair.

“Lieutenant Gibbs, thank you for coming. I have a request for you. If you would be so kind as to please carry our stubborn Anthony so he can be outdoors, Lieutenant,” Ducky sighed with defeat.

“I can walk,” Anthony tried.

Ducky silenced him with a fierce glare. “As I was saying,” he sniffed, as he continued. “Mrs Osgood has prepared a place in the sun where Anthony can sit comfortably. But I do not wish for Anthony to tear his stitches out and undo all the forward progress we have made with his recovery, and therefore, I would like to ask you if you could please carry Anthony outside?”

For his part, Tony kept his face solemn and serious, although Gibbs could see that his big, green eyes were dancing with excitement.

“Of course, Ducky. I am happy to help,” Gibbs nodded.

He approached the bed and put one arm under Anthony’s knees, and the other around his back, and when he hefted the man up, he was distressed to realize that the Omega seemed to be much lighter than he had been not so very long ago. Anthony had lost a lot of weight in the past few weeks, but the fact that he was still with them was very much something Gibbs was thankful for. He settled Anthony more comfortably in his arms before he nodded, signaling that he was ready.

Anthony placed his arms around Gibb’s neck, clinging to him as Gibbs walked behind the doctor, through the hallways, down two flights of stairs, and out a side door into the courtyard. Ducky led him to a spot in the sun where a chaise had been dragged out and draped with many blankets and pillows. An umbrella was affixed in such a way that Gibbs could tilt it and shade Anthony if it should get too hot. It was a right cozy little nest and Gibbs could feel Anthony’s sigh of happiness when he saw it. He was smiling so brightly now that even Ducky and Mrs Osgood, neither of whom had wanted for Anthony to strain himself by going outside and had been unhappy to acquiesce to this demand, were smiling as well. His delight and satisfaction was infectious.

Gibbs carefully set him down on the chaise, and helped Ducky arrange the pillows and blankets so Anthony would be comfortable and protected from the slight wind that was blowing. A table had been brought out and it was laden with a tea service, with biscuits and small sandwiches. Little things that Anthony was now allowed to eat. There was also a chair next to the chaise, and Ducky gestured towards it.

“Would you mind staying and keeping Anthony company while Mrs Osgood and I return to our duties?” Ducky asked. “I must work on Anthony’s medications and prepare more of that ginger tea that has so helped him in his recovery, and Mrs Osgood always has far too many things to do.”

“Of course, Ducky,” Gibbs smiled and nodded.

“Thank you,” Ducky told him. “And you,” he pointed to Anthony, his tone now stern. “Be a good boy and have a care. Do not tear your stitches, or faint, or get too much sun, or catch a cold. Or you will not see the sun again for many days.”

“I shall be perfectly fine here, Ducky,” Anthony laughed happily. “Besides, Lieutenant Gibbs will not allow any of those things to happen to me, isn’t that right, Lieutenant?”

Gibbs gave him a look.

“I mean, Jethro,” Anthony corrected himself, blushing prettily.

“That is right,” Gibbs nodded. “Nothing will happen to Tony while I am here.”

Ducky rolled his eyes and walked away in a huff. Mrs Osgood took a moment to fluff Anthony’s pillows a little more and pull the blankets up, tucking it snugly around him, before she squeezed his hand and walked away.

Anthony let out a great big sigh after they had both departed, turning his face up to the sun, eyes closed, his expression one of pure bliss. “I have missed the sun,” he sighed. “I hate the smell of sickness in my room now.”

“I’m sure Mrs Osgood will air it out while you are out,” Gibbs assured him. “And besides, you are not ill, Tony. You are recovering from an injury.”

Anthony made an impatient gesture with his hands, as if it were all the same to him.

Abelard, Heloise and Schmetterling came barreling into the courtyard, barking happily and licking Anthony enthusiastically in greeting. Anthony petted them and praised them, giving them the attention they had missed for several weeks now, until they calmed and laid down. Schmetterling had his head on Gibbs’ foot, which made him inordinately proud. He did not know how or when, but somehow he had won over Anthony’s ferocious dogs. Unlike poor Fornell, who still had not yet been forgiven by Anthony’s dogs.

They sat in silence for a while, Anthony breathing in and out deeply, a faint smile quirking his lips up and his dimples appearing and disappearing most attractively as he laid back on his pillows and enjoyed the fresh air.

“I hear that Mr McGee has spoken of his affections for Miss Sciuto to you,” Anthony gave him a sly grin. “And you did not immediately shoot him where he stood.”

“I see that you and Abby have been talking about this,” Gibbs grumbled.

Anthony laughed at that. “Ah, Jethro. McGee is all that Miss Sciuto talks about. Mr McGee this, Mr McGee that. Mr McGee knows so many things. Mr McGee is the most wonderful thing in the world!”

Gibbs snorted at that, making Anthony laugh even more.

“But he does love her?” Anthony asked.

Gibbs nodded. “Unfortunately,” he wrinkled his nose. “But Abigail is too young.”

“She is only seventeen,” Anthony agreed.

“But McGee is willing to wait.”

“That is a good indication of his seriousness.”

Gibbs nodded.

“Ah, young love,” Anthony sighed. “It is a good thing.”

Gibbs frowned at him. Was that what it had been with Ziva David? Had that been his version of young love, only it turned out that the woman was part of a plot to kill his adopted father?

“Why do you give me that look, Jethro?”

Anthony’s words brought Gibbs back to himself. “’Tis nothing,” he murmured.

“That is not nothing,” Anthony raised his eyebrows. “Are you all right?”

Gibbs rubbed his forehead and sighed. If he was to speak of matters of the heart to this man, he could perhaps start using his words now for something that was somewhat related. As practice. “I was just wondering if… perhaps you still… have feelings for Miss David? And are affected by her betrayal?”

“What?” Anthony looked at him in confusion. “Why would I have feelings for Miss David?”

“Everyone has been talking about her mistreatment of you and your affections.”

“_Oh_,” Anthony sighed and his shoulders drooped. “It was nothing.”

“Was it though?”

He bit his lip. “I thought she liked me,” he shrugged. “She was like no one I had ever met. She was brash and rude, and she did not care that I was not a typical Omega. She had her own eccentricities, and you know, being a female Alpha she also understood the… unicorn aspect of our designations. I liked her well enough during our courtship, and she seemed to be enamored of me. But one day I overheard her speaking to a friend about ‘duping the Omega’ and how she felt nothing for me.”

“Oh, Tony,” Gibbs reached over to squeeze his hand.

“I was not in love with her,” Anthony told him. “But everybody assumed that I was. Did it hurt me that she used me so callously? That she humiliated me like that? Of course. But my heart is perfectly fine, and in all honesty, perhaps it was my pride that was bruised a little. I should not have fallen for her offers of friendship. My father trained me better than that. Nonetheless, everything between us had only ever been proper and aboveboard. She never took liberties with me, not in that way. Nothing had truly happened between us. After what I overheard, I broke off our friendship and made it clear that I was not open to continuing our courtship. I recovered quickly enough, as my pride has taken much worse beatings before. My mistake was, obviously, in leaving town and running home to Ashford, as everyone assumed that I was heartbroken. And the stories spread about town.” He sighed. “By that time, if I were to say anything more, it would only make the stories worse. Therefore I just stayed silent and continued to happily live my life here, in Surrey, where I am happiest. With Ducky, Mrs Osgood, Harris and my dogs.”

“I would gladly kill her again for you for this, even though she did not break your heart. And this time I would be sure to dismember her body and bring her still beating heart to you,” Gibbs growled.

“Why, Jethro, that is the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me,” Anthony sounded a little breathless now, the pupils of his green eyes darkening.

Gibbs leaned over and kissed the back of his hand. He loved that such declarations were met with real happiness. He knew of no one else who would have reacted in quite this manner. Gibbs looked around. They were alone. The dogs were sleeping at their feet. It was a beautiful day, and the slight breeze was calming. It was the perfect summer day. Gibbs would find no better opportunity to do as Paddington urged, to speak to Anthony with honesty and with emotion.

He cleared his throat uncomfortably, clasping Anthony’s hand in both of his. “When things are settled and your safety is secured once again,” he began, “you must let it be known that you do not wish to marry me, Tony.”

“Oh,” Anthony sounded sad.

“You are wonderful. You are everything a man or a woman would ever want, and I cannot let your reputation be ruined by associating with the likes of me.”

“The likes of you?” Anthony repeated.

Gibbs nodded. “I am a sad old man, far too old for you, and you deserve so much more. You deserve so much better than a broken down Marine, Anthony.”

“I do?”

“Of course you do. You are magnificent,” Gibbs declared fiercely. “And you deserve someone who will appreciate that magnificence, and be a true spouse to you. Someone who will be a partner in all of your endeavors, who will support you and love you, and want you to always be who you are, even through the harrowing adventures that you will no doubt drag them through.”

Anthony stared at him looking torn between laughter and indignance. “Are you judging me by what a dangerous courtship we have had?” he asked.

“Would life with you ever be truly different than what we have just been through?”

“Perhaps,” Anthony rolled his eyes, although it was a more conciliatory tone.

“But you deserve all that and more, Tony. More than me…”

“Do you not support me and always want me to be who I am?” Anthony asked.

“Of course I do,” Gibbs told him. “Of course I do, my love. You have my heart and my love. I will be yours and be true to you always. But I know you are destined for more. So I will gladly be a friend to you, someone you may turn to for advice when you are in need of it.”

“You love me?” Anthony’s voice was faint.

Gibbs chanced a look at his face, and saw that he was pale again. He began pulling the blankets around the ailing man, trying to bundle him up even more.

“Stop fussing with the blankets and answer the question, Lieutenant,” Anthony snapped. “Do you love me?”

Gibbs could not look away from those intense green eyes. “Yes,” he finally whispered. “I love you, with all my heart. I am yours, even though I do not deserve you.”

“I love you, too, Jethro,” Anthony whispered back. “You are not a sad old man. You are everything an Alpha should be. I am the one who does not deserve _you_.”

“You love me?” Gibbs had to ask.

“I love you, Jethro,” Anthony said, smiling shyly. “I am in love with you. I cannot imagine living my life without you in it.”

Gibbs grunted, unable to find a real response to that.

“Do you not realize that you have already been doing the things that you claim you want for me? You have been a partner to me – and we do work well together, as we have clearly demonstrated. You knew I meant for you to notice my pistol on the table when Miss David confronted us,” Anthony smiled. “And you support me, and are always so careful to ensure that I am who I am. You do not look at me in dismay when I behave in a way that is true to my person, and you do not judge me by my designation or my position, or by my family, be they good or evil. And if you love me on top of all of that, and if I love you as well, then I do not see why things would need to change between us? Why should we call off the engagement if we both feel the way we do for each other?”

Anthony’s hand was in his hair, fingering the clip that Gibbs had been the first to put on him.

“Tony, are you saying that you would not object to marrying me?” Gibbs had to ask.

“Only if you do not object to marrying me.”

“I do not object at all,” Gibbs breathed out. “I love you. You are everything to me.”

Anthony’s smile was so bright, it felt as if all of the darkness and sadness in Gibbs’ soul was made light again. He went down on one knee, keeping Anthony’s hand in his, pressing his lips to it tenderly.

“Will you do me the honor of being my husband, Tony?” Gibbs asked, looking deep into the Omega’s soulful green eyes.

“I will,” Tony smiled, tears gathering in his eyes. “Gladly.”

Gibbs kissed his hand again. His heart was so full, it was near bursting now. “You have made me the happiest man in the world.”

“I am afraid that that honor must be shared with me, Jethro,” Anthony whispered.

“I shall endeavor to deserve your love, every day that we are together, and every minute that we are apart,” Gibbs murmured.

Anthony blushed profusely. “You are surprisingly sweet tongued when you need to be,” he joked.

“Only for you, my love.”

They stared at each other for a long time, Gibbs down on one knee, holding Anthony’s hand tightly. Slowly, Anthony stretched his neck, baring it for Gibbs.

“Will you mark me with your scent, my Alpha?” he asked.

Gibbs drew in a sharp breath, his heart soaring.

“Please?” he dimpled so prettily, his bared neck calling out to Gibbs.

“Yes,” Gibbs said hoarsely. Fingers trembling, he reached up and caressed Anthony from his ear down to his collarbone, running the back of his hand down Anthony’s long, graceful neck, rubbing his scent on that inviting expanse of skin. He drew his hand back and took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of strawberries and rain, now mixed with his own scent of cinnamon and lemons. It filled his nostrils and his lungs, and his heart with a sense of rightness. It was the only scent he wanted to ever have in his nose ever again, that of his and Anthony’s, combined so beautifully. “Will you mark me as well, my Omega?” Just saying those words out loud was making Gibbs’ heart beat so strongly, almost beating its way out of his chest.

Anthony’s smile was beautiful as he ran his fingers down Gibbs’ neck, and Gibbs sighed with pleasure at the gentle touch.

“I love you,” Anthony mouthed at him.

“And I, you,” Gibbs replied.

[](https://i.imgur.com/ivk5VAD.jpg) [](https://i.imgur.com/ivk5VAD.jpg)

~~~~~~~~~~~

Count DiNozzo returned to Houghton Hall a few days later, bringing with him a new wife. He had apparently sought a quick divorce from Jennifer, even though she (and Kort) would soon be tried and executed for their crimes. But unlike DiNozzo’s previous wives, this woman was older than he, and had been previously married before. She was also one of the richest women in England.

“I am moving away from Houghton Hall. I shall be living with the new Mrs DiNozzo from now on,” DiNozzo declared.

Anthony, who was ensconced in a comfortable chaise in the drawing room, wrapped up in blankets and propped up with pillows only raised an eyebrow. “Indeed?” he asked.

“Darling, you know that I refuse to be called by your name. Do please call me Lady Chatsworth,” Mrs DiNozzo… or rather, Lady Chatsworth interrupted. “I am far too old to learn to respond to a new name. And besides, I did not take the names of my last three husbands.”

“Last… three? Husbands?” Anthony asked. “There were more than three?”

She smiled and nodded at him.

“I see,” Anthony muttered. “And yet you married the Count?”

“Oh do not worry, child,” Lady Chatsworth took his hand and smiled. “I know the measure of a man that Mr DiNozzo is.”

“My title is ‘Conte’,” DiNozzo insisted weakly.

“Of course it is, dear. Now, run along and pack your things, darling,” the woman told him, using the same kind of tone that one did to a young child, and obediently DiNozzo left the room.

Anthony exchanged a glance filled with disbelief with Gibbs and Ducky.

“I know who he is, Mr Paddington,” Lady Chatsworth told him, smiling pleasantly. “I know that he married me only for my fortune. He is a greedy, shallow, spoiled man who only wishes to do what is easiest for him. I am not unaware of the unpleasant side of his charming personality. I know that he does not love me. I do not love him, either.”

“If you know all this, then why did you marry him?” Anthony asked.

“He is still young enough to please me in my bed, a fact that I made sure of prior to our marriage. And yet he is not so young that the ton will gossip about how he is too young for me,” Lady Chatsworth said, and Anthony choked on his tea, coughing loudly and Gibbs had to gently slap his back until he regained his breath.

“Oh,” Anthony gasped, his cheeks turning red. “I see.”

“Forgive my bluntness, my dear, I realize you are not yet wed,” Lady Chatsworth smiled. “You are so beautiful, and still so innocent. Oh, but if you were older, I would have snapped _you_ up in a minute instead of your father.”

“Oh,” Anthony’s voice was faint, and Gibbs didn’t even realize that he was growling under his breath until Lady Chatsworth smiled at him.

“Oh do not worry, Lieutenant Gibbs,” she eyed him up and down. “I am not looking to come between you and your lovely Omega.”

Gibbs tried to stop the growling but he did not succeed until Anthony reached out a hand and grasped his.

“As to your father, it is appropriate for him to remarry now. His Omega son is about to be wed and he no longer needs to live at home to chaperon him.”

Ducky cleared his throat loudly at that. For Ducky had been the chaperon. Count DiNozzo had never actually played a useful role in Anthony’s life, as far as Gibbs could tell.

“I will ensure that he has what he needs from now on, and he need not be a burden to your estates any further,” she continued. “He has confessed to me of what he had done to you, making money in such a filthy, despicable way. He will be putting all of that earnings from your twenty fifth birthday into a trust for you and your future children.”

“Oh… but… I really don’t need…” Anthony tried to object.

“I know you are a young man of means,” Lady Chatsworth interrupted him. “But you must anticipate children in the future, and while I know that your Alpha will be happy to provide for them, it is always good to know that your future family will be taken care of. Your father is now my husband. I will provide for your father as long as he lives. I will also provide for you and all of my future grandchildren.”

“Oh,” Anthony nodded and Gibbs could tell that he did not know what else to say.

“I must say, my dear Anthony – you do not mind if I call you Anthony, do you, since I am now your stepmother?”

Anthony wordlessly shook his head.

“Anthony, I must say I approve of your choice of a husband,” she smiled at Gibbs. “He does look as if he will know exactly what to do to pleasure you on your wedding night.”

“Oh,” Anthony gasped again, his face flushing most attractively.

“I always say that it is such a shame how we English view the activities in the boudoir,” she shook her head. “If a man is not causing a woman – or an Omega – to be screaming in pleasure, then he is doing something wrong. And if your lieutenant does not have you screaming in pleasure on your wedding night, then I insist you should write to me about it. I would be more than happy to impart advice to you – or to him – on how to ensure that you achieve your own climax when you are coupling. Because this should happen at least once for each coupling for every party involved. And as women and Omegas, we have the ability to obtain sexual release multiple times, if our partner is generous enough and knowledgeable enough to make that happen.”

“Um…” Anthony’s eyes were wide as saucers and his face beet red.

“Lady Chatsworth, Anthony is still a boy, and an innocent!” Ducky exploded. “I will take this moment to remind you of this fact.”

“Of course, of course you are right, Doctor Mallard,” Lady Chatsworth said easily. “I do apologize for such an indiscreet topic. I merely wish to impart my experiences in this matter. Anthony should know before anything ever happens, that there is absolutely no need for anyone to just lie back and think of England.”

Anthony was starting to giggle now, and Gibbs had never heard such a beautiful sound.

“Three of my husbands have died in our bedchamber doing what we loved best,” the woman continued proudly if a little sadly. “And what a way it was for them to go.”

Anthony’s giggles were infectious, making Gibbs smile and hide a chuckle.

Count DiNozzo returned, claiming that his bags were packed and being put on their carriage now.

“Oh, won’t you stay for tea, Lady Chatsworth?” Anthony asked. “You would be able to meet Lieutenant Gibbs’ ward, the delightful Miss Sciuto if you did.”

“Do not put yourself out, my dear,” she patted his arm kindly. “I know that you have been through a lot in recent weeks, and are still recovering from a mortal injury. It soothes my heart so to see you recovering so well, as I had heard of the severity of your wounds. Pray, do not trouble yourself today. We shall see ourselves out and visit with you properly when you are much better. We can meet young Miss Sciuto at our next visit. You should rest and regain your health, my dear. After all, you are now my son as well. And nothing will make me happier than to come and see you for myself, to ensure your health and happiness.”

“Of course,” Anthony agreed. “I look forward to your next visit.”

“Your father will, of course, write you once a week, like clockwork, so you will not miss him even if he is not living with you anymore,” she continued.

Anthony gave the Count a panicked look which the man returned. Gibbs had to wonder what these weekly letters would look like, given that neither Anthony nor the Count had ever engaged in a proper conversation in the weeks that Gibbs had known them.

“Um… very well,” Anthony finally nodded.

“Very good. I wish you all the best in your recovery but I can see that with your doctor and your Alpha here with you, it should all go smoothly,” she stood and leaned down to kiss Anthony’s cheek, a simple, maternal peck. “You are most adorable and a treasure to the Paddingtons. I am pleased that you are now part of my family, too.”

“Me, too,” Anthony mumbled.

“Do not forget to send us an invitation to your wedding. And convey my greetings to Miss Sciuto.”

“No, madam, I shan’t forget.”

“Excellent. Come, Antonio,” she swept away without looking back and Count DiNozzo scuttled after her, leaving Gibbs, Ducky and Anthony to look at each other with wide eyes.

After a minute, Anthony broke into peals of laughter while Ducky muttered under his breath about the impropriety of the topic of discussion on such tender ears, and Gibbs found himself glad that Abigail and Miss Todd were out for a walk in Ashford, busy helping to plan Anthony and Gibbs’ wedding. Abigail was slowly recovering from her own sad malaise and seemed to be ready to take on the world again, already demanding to be allowed to go back to town so she could order the perfect items and materials needed for Anthony’s bridal trousseau, and Gibbs was entirely happy to see her revert back to the happy person she had been prior to her father’s death.

“I have never felt like I needed to be the one to warn the Count of anything in my entire life,” Anthony managed to say, even though he was still laughing, tears seeping out of the corners of his eyes. “But _three_ of her husbands have died in her bed!”

Gibbs chuckled at that. “I am sure he will be able to handle it.”

“_Handle_ it?” Anthony giggled some more, and his laughter was so infectious that even Ducky was starting to laugh. “Handle _her_, you mean? Oh, that’s making my side hurt. Ow. Ow. Ow. Oh, stop making me laugh. Oh, I cannot wait to tell Father about this! This is _wonderful_!”

Gibbs took Anthony’s hand and kissed it, hoping that the rest of his life would be filled with such happy laughter and such wonderful company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think of the Count's new wife? 😁 😁
> 
> Tomorrow will be the final chapter of the story. I hope you guys will stick with me to see the final wrap up!
> 
> Thank you for supporting this story as I post it chapter by chapter! ❤️❤️


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the final chapter! I wrote and re-wrote and edited this a few times. Originally it was supposed to be a short epilogue but it kind of grew into this so... 😳😊😛
> 
> Also I know I'm a little late posting this chapter, so I will be replying to your comments when I can. I have loved every single one of them! Thank you! ❤️

[](https://i.imgur.com/BcfUncj.jpg)

On the night before their wedding, Gibbs found himself dining with Lord Paddington, Lord Morrow, McGee, Fornell, Doctor Mallard and Conte DiNozzo. Anthony had been claimed by the ladies of their family, which included Abigail, Miss Todd, Mrs Morrow and Mrs Osgood. Even Lady Chatsworth had come early to Ashford to prepare Anthony for his wedding day. Gibbs wondered what that gathering of women – Miss Todd and Lady Chatsworth being very different sorts of women – would amount to. Even though Ducky had tried to sternly inform Lady Chatsworth of Anthony’s innocence, and that she should also be more discreet given that Abigail was even younger and more innocent, he did not believe that Lady Chatsworth was capable of discretion.

Luckily, Gibbs was spared the company of Lady Chatsworth as all of the men had been shooed away with claims of it being bad luck to see the bride before the wedding. All of the women refused to listen to Anthony’s claims that he was not exactly the bride, given that he was a man. Unfortunately for Anthony, Paddington acquiesced to the tradition and dragged all of the men with the exception of Anthony out of Houghton Hall and they ended up at Gibbs’ house.

Dinner that night was a raucous and merry affair, everyone except for DiNozzo teasing Gibbs good-naturedly about his impending nuptials. DiNozzo remained fairly quiet throughout the meal, even abstaining from wine, whiskey and any beverage that would impair him. Apparently, Lady Chatsworth demanded sobriety from him, so he could better please her in the boudoir. But most of the others joined in teasing and ribbing Gibbs. However, Gibbs welcomed the teasing, for he was looking forward to married life with Anthony. It had been a long road for him to achieve happiness again, after Shannon’s death. He would not take what he had found and built with Anthony for granted, for theirs was never going to be a conventional marriage.

Despite being an Omega, Anthony was a man, for one. And for another, Anthony was Lord Paddington’s son. The conspiracy that they had begun to uncover during the entire affair with Ziva David was much larger than they had anticipated, and indeed widespread throughout the Continent. Anthony had decided to come out of retirement, at least until he could be sure that his adopted father, Lord Paddington, would no longer be a target. Gibbs could not object to this decision, even though he would be much happier if Anthony were to stay in Ashford, living quietly with Gibbs for the rest of their lives. Even though Anthony was choosing the dangerous path again, Gibbs could not object for he agreed with his fiancé. In order to keep the kingdom safe, Lord Paddington had to remain alive. And if it took Anthony coming out of his retirement and going back to the work he had been completing for Paddington’s shadowy organization to ensure the safety of the kingdom, then Gibbs would do his part to help his soon to be husband.

Only Ducky, Gibbs and Lord Paddington knew that Anthony was coming out of retirement, though. They wanted to keep this information out of the general knowledge of even Paddington’s organization. Anthony and Gibbs, with the accompaniment of Ducky, would begin another tour of the Continent, this time a year-long honeymoon tour that was ostensibly a wedding gift from Lady Chatsworth. That great lady was, of course, ignorant of what Anthony and Gibbs planned to do as part of their honeymoon tour, but even so, Gibbs was sure that they would still manage to find the time to build on their relationship and their marriage. In truth, he wasn’t sure now that he could have ever married someone and settled down to living quietly in the backwaters for the rest of his life. He had dearly missed being a Royal Marine, and now he would unofficially be part of Paddington’s world as Anthony’s husband and Alpha.

And he was so looking forward to being Anthony’s husband. He wanted to be the one who woke up every morning with Anthony, and went to bed every night with him. He wanted to have the excitement and intrigue of Anthony’s life, and he also wanted all the moments of serenity and peace with the Omega. In short, he wanted everything with him. And he had waited many months now. Ziva David had shot Anthony late the previous summer, and his recovery had been slow. Infection had set in and he had suffered some setbacks, going through periods of intense fevers throughout the winter. He had contracted a worrisome chest infection in December, which had confined him to his room and his bed for another month, and even now, Gibbs could hear the wheezing sound of Tony’s breaths on especially cold days.

But he was much better now and had not had a relapse in several months. And now that it was late spring, and the flowers were blooming and the sun warming the earth again, and most importantly, Anthony was restored to his full healthy self, they were finally going to be married. Gibbs was very much looking forward to officially pledging himself to Anthony in front of all of their family and friends, and he was eager to be alone with Anthony without harming his reputation. They had been very careful to observe every ounce of propriety in the interim months, especially since Gibbs wanted to be sure to give Abigail an example of what a proper engagement would look like. Even though she and McGee were not yet engaged, theirs seemed to be a courtship that was blossoming, and despite himself, Gibbs did approve of McGee. He was a good man, dependable and stalwart. Abigail could do much worse. But he still insisted that they not rush into a marriage given how young Abigail still was, and surprisingly, McGee agreed with him, wanting Abigail to get to know him and truly be in love with him before they married.

Lady Chatsworth’s lavish wedding gift required a bit of a change in how Gibbs would care for his ward. Even though he and Anthony would embark on their honeymoon tour once summer began, Abigail and Miss Todd would remain living in Houghton Hall under the watchful eye of Lord Paddington, Lord Morrow, and Mrs Osgood. They had discussed the possibility of traveling with the ladies, but their tour could be fraught with danger and it would be difficult to obscure their work from the women if they were in such close quarters with them in a foreign country. It also looked odd that the honeymoon tour would include so many family members, given that it was to be a private journey of discovery, not just of the Continent, but of each other, body and soul – these were Lady Chatsworth’s words, with a strong emphasis on the word ‘body’. Ducky was someone whose presence they could justify, because he had not only been Anthony’s chaperon for so many years, he was also a doctor and it was understandable that Anthony would wish for his private physician to accompany him on this long journey with his new husband. Given his extremely rare designation, a doctor that had never encountered one such as he would not be as familiar with his particular type of biology. Ducky knew him inside and out, and had done so ever since he was a child. But they could not justify bringing Abigail and Miss Todd on their proposed ‘journey of discovery’. Additionally, neither Gibbs nor Anthony wished to expose Abigail and Miss Todd to any further incidents. Therefore, despite Abigail’s pouts, they would remain safely in Ashford. Anthony promised however, to send for them to come for short visits of several of the more beautiful cities on the Continent, and Abigail had to be satisfied with that.

Once dinner and the after dinner drinks were over, everyone retired for the momentous day. Ducky, Lord Morrow and Lord Paddington were taking advantage of Gibbs’ hospitality and staying in guest rooms at his house, while DiNozzo returned to Houghton Hall where Lady Chatsworth was expecting him, and the others to their lodgings in Ashford. However, Gibbs did not go to bed immediately. He went to sit in his study, sipping a glass of bourbon from the case of bourbon that Anthony had given him as one of the many engagement gifts they had exchanged during the months prior to their wedding. The bourbon had been brought from the American colonies and turned out to be one of Gibbs’ favorite drinks.

Gibbs sat in the corner that he had set aside for whittling, working on the elephant that he was making, that would be part of the set of carved elephants that he was making for Anthony. Not for a wedding gift, but just a gift because he wanted to spoil his husband to be. Gibbs had had the opportunity to serve in the Indias during his time in the Royal Marines, and he had become enamored of the majestic creatures while he was there. He wanted to share this with his husband to be, hence the carvings he was working on. For a wedding gift, he had already made a set of carvings of Abelard, Heloise and Schmetterling which looked just like Tony’s dogs, even if Gibbs were to say so himself. He was also looking for a wolfhound puppy to be a companion for Schmetterling. He had an old friend living in Ireland whose hound had recently pupped. He was waiting for the pups to be weaned and as part of their tour, they would stop to visit Gibbs’ friend, and as a surprise, he meant for Anthony to pick out one of the pups to be his. Gibbs knew that this would make his fiancé very happy since he was always lamenting about how he wished for more dogs and how he thought Schmetterling might be lonely, as Abelard and Heloise had each other, and had also had several litters of puppies in the past while Schmetterling had only Anthony as company.

He was lost in thought, his hands working of their own volition, the movement of carving and whittling second nature to him, when a knock on the door interrupted him.

“Come,” he called out, wondering what on earth Vance or any other of his household were doing up so late.

The door opened and Lord Paddington stepped into his study.

“My lord,” Gibbs moved to stand, but Paddington waved him back down.

“No, no,” he said, “continue your work. I shall bring a chair over to you, if that is all right?”

“Of course, my lord,” Gibbs agreed.

Paddington brought a chair over and sat across from Gibbs, eyes on the piece of wood that was already becoming recognizably an elephant. His eyes traveled to Gibbs’ worktable, seeing the already completed and painted elephants set upon it and he smiled.

“These are lovely, Gibbs,” he praised the man.

“I hope Tony agrees with you,” Gibbs shrugged, “for they are meant for him.”

“I am sure that he will love them.”

Gibbs smiled at the older Alpha, and gestured towards liquor cabinet. “Please, help yourself.”

“Wonderful,” Paddington smiled, going to the cabinet.

Gibbs watched as the Alpha poured himself a measure of Gibbs’ precious bourbon and then he settled back in the chair across from Gibbs, sipping his drink in silence for a few moments.

“Is there something wrong, my lord?” Gibbs asked, after several minutes passed in silence that he would not exactly call comfortable.

Paddington sighed. “No, no,” he shook his head. “I am merely trying to choose my words.”

“I am a Marine,” Gibbs shrugged. “The plainer the words that you use, the better it will be for me.”

Paddington smiled at that, raising his glass and toasting Gibbs silently, before taking another sip of his drink. “Anthony is my son.”

Gibbs resisted the urge to remind the lord that he was quite aware of this fact. No matter that he was marrying Paddington’s son, Lord Paddington remained a powerful figure and Gibbs did not wish to get on his bad side, for Anthony’s sake. He did not wish to put his fiancé in a situation where he had to choose between his father and his soon to be husband.

“Which of course, you know,” Paddington continued. “But what I wish to tell you is that I have made him my son in every way possible.”

“What do you mean?” Gibbs asked.

“I have made him my heir in my will,” Paddington’s eyes were serious. “He will inherit my title, and the bulk of my estates after my death. I officially adopted him after his mother died, you know, and changed my will as far back as then.”

“But he presented as Omega,” Gibbs’ cocked his head. “And as I understand it, you have another Paddington nephew. One who is an Alpha?”

“Crispian?” Paddington scoffed. “He is the best example of a knothead. He will not be my heir and I have already made that clear to him. He does not care, as long as he gets a share of my wealth. He will inherit from my brother, at any rate.”

Gibbs sighed. “So Anthony will one day be Lord Paddington.”

“That was always my plan,” Paddington nodded. “After he presented, I was advised to change my will and make Crispian Anthony’s legal Alpha, should he not be wed to one at the time of my death. But I refused. Anthony is a man, one of the best I have ever known, and he was raised to be strong and capable. And because male Omegas are so rare, he is still regarded as male by law. It would be difficult for the courts or Crispian to negate my will on this matter. Because at the end of the day, Anthony is _my son_. Every action I have taken since my poor sister’s death proclaims that, clearly and loudly. No one and nothing can change that.”

Gibbs nodded, “Of course,” he agreed. He had seen firsthand the kind of love Paddington had for Anthony and how that feeling was returned tenfold by Anthony.

“But as you are marrying him, I will soon no longer be his legal Alpha,” Paddington smiled, sad but fond. “You will take on that mantle.”

Gibbs understood where this was going. “I do not plan to change how Anthony manages his business affairs,” he assured the elder Alpha. “I will be his legal Alpha in name only. He can work with you to manage his own affairs, in the way he always has.”

“You misunderstand me.”

“Oh?”

“Regarding that… I did not think he would tell you this so I shall do so,” Paddington grinned, and the mischief in his eyes made Gibbs think of his beloved. They were so alike, both Paddingtons. “In truth, I have not managed my own business affairs in many years, focusing mainly on my work for the King.”

“My lord?” Gibbs did not understand what he was saying.

“I turned management of my banking and investments, everything, over to Anthony when he was not yet seventeen. He has since doubled my holdings and his own inheritance with his acumen,” Paddington’s smile was proud.

“He manages your money?” Gibbs asked, needing to put it baldly.

“As well as his own,” Paddington nodded. “Far better than anyone I’ve ever hired for that purpose. Which is a reason why that wastrel Crispian will not be managing his own affairs. After my death, Anthony will be holding his estate in trust the way I do now for both Anthony’s and Crispian’s estates.”

Gibbs stared at the man, his soon to be father in law for a long moment, before he began chuckling. “Oh,” he laughed. “Crispian will not enjoy that. Being under the thumb of an Omega.”

Paddington shrugged. “That part, I do not believe he fully comprehends quite yet.”

Gibbs laughed even more at that. “Well, then I shall certainly do nothing to interrupt Anthony’s work,” he shook his head as he calmed down. “Perhaps I shall turn over my own modest investments into his care.”

“They will not remain so modest for long if you do so,” Paddington leaned forward and clapped Gibbs’ shoulder. “I had worried that even though you love Tony and you know of his clandestine work, that this little secret that he does not like known, would not be something you could get behind. I have found it unwise to come between a man and his banker.”

“My needs are few and I require little by way of expenses. And I loathe thinking of such things,” Gibbs rolled his eyes. “Such uninteresting minutiae. It would be a blessing for me to turn that over to Anthony.”

“Anthony will do much better than any banker you can hire,” Paddington smiled.

“Then this is what I shall ask him to do, after we are wed.”

“And you have no objections to the fact that one day he will be Lord Paddington?”

“I will fight tooth and nail to preserve his right to inherit your title, should there ever be any oppositions to it, and to ensure that your wishes are carried out,” Gibbs told him. “Although I know that we will work very hard to keep you alive and hold that title for many, many more years. Anthony needs his father, and I believe, you need him in return.”

Paddington’s eyes shone with unshed tears. “My son has, indeed, chosen a worthy Alpha to be his husband.”

“You pushed us together in a not too subtle fashion, yourself, my lord,” Gibbs grinned at him.

“I will not own to any such thing.”

“I am sure you will not.”

“I also know that Anthony has planned this honeymoon tour to be his return to the work that he used to do,” Paddington sighed. “I cannot stop him. But I beg of you, if it gets too dangerous, I beg you to counsel him wisely.”

“I will,” Gibbs promised.

“And if he were to…” Paddington cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable. “To… become with child, then I hope that you will take that into consideration. Perhaps ensure that you return home before his condition becomes too advanced. Pray, convince my son that he cannot be careless with the life of my unborn grandchild.”

Gibbs stared at the older Alpha. In all honesty, with all the excitement and all of the bouts of ill health that Anthony had gone through, it had escaped his mind that he could beget a child upon Anthony, as early as their wedding night. He had known, of course, that there was the possibility of having children together, but it had not quite hit home so strongly until Paddington’s words.

“I see you had not quite thought about that eventuality,” Paddington patted his arm.

“I do want children with Tony,” Gibbs pursed his lips. “I had not thought it could happen quite so soon. But you are right. If Anthony were to conceive, that will necessitate a change to our original operating plans. I will ensure that he not endanger himself or the child he carries, if and when that occurs.”

Gibbs and Ducky would just have to do it all themselves. He did not see being able to talk Anthony into cutting their trip short too quickly. He would have to speak with Ducky and Anthony about this, and make a plan for it. He would also have to learn more of Anthony and Ducky’s tradecraft, so he would be of more help. He had been planning on it, but the thought of Anthony carrying his child made it even more urgent for him to be well versed in all aspects of their work.

“Thank you,” Paddington smiled at him.

Gibbs nodded a response, smiling back. His heart was growing again now at the thought of Anthony big with his child, his belly swelling as the child grew. Despite the dangers involved, he felt as if he and Anthony would be able to take everything on and come out on top, if they worked together. They could overcome any challenge, as long as they were together. Gibbs was sure of it.

The two men spent a companionable hour or so, drinking bourbon together, and Gibbs continued to whittle before Paddington got up to retire for the night.

“Do not stay up for much longer, Gibbs,” Paddington told him as he was leaving. “For you will be marrying my son tomorrow. You must store up your energy for tomorrow night. Do not forget that Anthony has been subjected to Lady Chatsworth’s company for several uninterrupted hours now and without Ducky there to stop her from giving him unsolicited wedding boudoir advice, I shudder to think what he has learned from her and what he will expect from you tomorrow night.” He winked as he left the room.

Gibbs sat, stunned for a moment before he gulped down the rest of his drink and hurried off to bed. Paddington was right. He did need to be ready for whatever the next day (and night) would bring.

[](https://i.imgur.com/ivk5VAD.jpg) [](https://i.imgur.com/ivk5VAD.jpg)

~~~~~~~~~~~

Gibbs was at the altar, with Fornell standing with him. Doctor Mallard was on Anthony’s side of the aisle, as he was Anthony’s best man. They were all three anxiously awaiting the start of the proceedings. Finally, musicians began playing and Anthony and Lord Paddington began walking down the aisle. Gibbs’ entire focus was on the beautiful Omega stepping slowly towards him, smiling wider than he had ever seen. Anthony was wearing the traditional white gown, and carrying a small bouquet of wildflowers in his gloved hands. For this occasion he had even forgone his usual boots, going instead with delicate white slippers. Even though he had a lace veil on, Gibbs could see Abigail’s flower clip displayed prominently in his short hair, which made Gibbs’ heart swell with happiness. But Gibbs had to wonder how many knives he had had to strap on his legs under the dress, given that the boots were where he usually hid several knives and Anthony was not one to go unarmed, even at his own wedding. 

Finally, Anthony made it to the altar. Paddington gently kissed his forehead and scented his neck one last time as his legal Alpha, before he folded Anthony’s fingers in Gibbs’ and stepped away, nodding solemnly at Gibbs. With Anthony’s hand in his, Gibbs could barely recall the ceremony, knowing only that he responded when he was asked to, and apparently responded in all the correct ways. He took Anthony’s glove off and placed a ring on his finger when prompted, although he was unable to resist pressing his lips to the back of said hand. He could only focus on the man standing next to him, and after Anthony finally finished his vows, Gibbs pulled him close and folded the veil up over his head. Anthony bared his neck, and Gibbs ran his nose down that golden expanse of skin, from behind his ear, slowly, slowly all the way down to his collarbone, feeling Anthony melt into his arms and let out a soft moan. It was the first time he had ever scented Anthony fully, only ever using his hands prior to this. He followed with his fingers, scenting Anthony thoroughly, smelling now the combination of Anthony’s, his own and Paddington’s scents, although Paddington’s scent was being masked over with his, and Gibbs knew that that was how it was supposed to be from now on. His scent and Anthony’s combined forevermore.

He pulled Anthony close, ignoring the rice that was being thrown on them by their family, friends and the townsfolk, and the vague sound of church bells ringing, announcing their marriage, lost in Anthony’s eyes and their combined scent. He finally pressed his lips softly to Anthony’s, and kissed his husband for the very first time. Anthony tasted like strawberries, and Gibbs ignored the commotion around him, losing himself in Anthony’s lips, slipping his tongue into Anthony’s mouth and hearing him gasp softly as he used his hand to tilt Anthony’s head, giving them a better angle to seal their lips together. Gibbs’ manhood was digging into Anthony’s thigh, and he could feel a matching hardness on his own hip, which fanned the flames within him. He had waited so long and so patiently for this man, and now Anthony was his. Gibbs did not care who knew it, devouring Anthony’s mouth in a way that was quite inappropriate for a church. The Omega was obviously an innocent, unable to withstand Gibbs’ tongue and lips, until he finally started to caress Gibbs’ tongue with his own, which caused Gibbs to growl and deepen the kiss.

They finally pulled apart, panting for air, when Schmetterling, the wolfhound with the absolute worst timing in the world, stood on his hind legs and put his paws on Gibbs, licking his face. He was taller than Gibbs in this position and the dog saliva forced Gibbs out of that space where only he and Anthony existed.

Anthony started laughing breathlessly and covering his face in embarrassment while Schmetterling continued to lick Gibbs. Everyone surrounded them to embrace and congratulate them, and Paddington announced that the reception was at Houghton Hall and that all was invited to attend and he hoped that everyone would come, despite the way their last party ended, which made everyone laugh as they all began filing out.

Anthony finally had to give Schmetterling the command to sit to stop him from lavishing Gibbs with canine kisses, and he kept on giggling as Gibbs glared at the dog. Well. Gibbs would definitely find the blasted thing a companion and who would be laughing then? He would have Anthony all to himself after that.

“Make sure you kiss your husband’s nethers the same way you kissed his mouth,” Lady Chatsworth whispered in Gibbs’ ear. “The judicious use of your lips and tongue, fingers and even your teeth can drive him to completion. Do not be afraid to suck on him.”

Anthony’s gasp of shock made it evident that he had heard the woman.

“You will not be so innocent for much longer, Anthony,” Lady Chatsworth smiled, ignoring how Ducky was glaring at her.

Anthony laced his fingers with Gibbs’ and dragged him out of the church to join the party that was awaiting them. And hopefully, this time, nobody would be murdered during the festivities.

[](https://i.imgur.com/0igc0iy.jpg)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is the end, my friends! You guys have been so awesome with the comments as the chapters were posted. I really appreciate that! I hope the story ended to your satisfaction. (And look, there was even a real kiss in it) LOL ❤️❤️
> 
> [jesco0307](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jesco0307), I hope that you enjoyed this story that is your incredibly belated birthday gift. I can tell from your comments that I hit some of your likes, so that already makes me happy. You've been a great friend, and a wonderful beta. ❤️❤️ 😁
> 
> A HUGE HUGE shout out and thanks to the fabulous [rose_malmaison](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rose_malmaison) for the amazing artwork! I just can't get over how cool the banner is. Thank you so so much for creating this gorgeous period artwork! ❤️❤️
> 
> Now, those of you who are familiar with my body of work know that I tend to be fairly foul mouthed when I write. This AU in Regency times where I was trying to emulate the language and culture/society of that time forced me to not swear at all in over 55,000 words. I think this is a new world record for me LOL. So you know what I say now? I say FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCKITY FUCK FUCKKKKKKKK!!!! Whew! Got that out of the fucking way. 😁 Also you might have noticed the lack of smut - no sex, no nudity, no swearing. It was quite the challenge! So I apparently had to make up for that lack by killing off a bunch of people (sorry Jane Austen!). The Major Character Death was relating to the death of Ziva David. She was a series regular for 8 years, so I had to tag her as a major character, despite my own personal opinions of her. But well. I killed her off. So there.
> 
> Now for the music for the story. They are:  
* [Until](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJzyMZIBuo8) (Sting), which was recommended by my liege, the [QueeneoftheDeer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueeneoftheDeer)  
* [Schubert's String Quintet in C, D. 956 Op Posth 163](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0GOv95iDf0) (performed by the Emerson Quartet and David Finckel)
> 
> Below is a list of the reference materials that I used to do the research for this story to try to make it as realistic as possible:  
* [A History of the F Word](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/a-fcking-short-history-of_b_3352948?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS91cmw_c2E9dCZyY3Q9aiZxPSZlc3JjPXMmc291cmNlPXdlYiZjZD00JnZlZD0yYWhVS0V3anVrODc2bUxYakFoV0VWYzBLSFJIeUNVRVFGakFEZWdRSUFSQUImdXJsPWh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGd3d3Lmh1ZmZwb3N0LmNvbSUyRmVudHJ5JTJGYS1mY2tpbmctc2hvcnQtaGlzdG9yeS1vZl9iXzMzNTI5NDgmdXNnPUFPdlZhdzJxVnZDa1Rtdzg1eElsN1R3Nl9pc00&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADFLMDEbQHg4pagr5zfogXZmTdwzEcDR6gRrv3P61pbHj9rDik-9O39CcV1fRaeXtH1mLS3lNP-WC-JMyK9yZNF3rI4g-3fYgKN3BBGbWq_YO_2Bnour85ErVVaU3F8VDd1RAcPdsYOhkghq1UeSkx6V5LpXhauHw8gzIT9570xj) (an article that convinced me that I should not use the F bomb in the story)  
* [Swear Words of the Regency Era](http://improvisedjaneausten.blogspot.com/2017/01/swear-words-used-during-regency-period.html) (an article that helped me choose some of the words that I did use, e.g., 'strumpet')  
* [The History of Espionage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_espionage)  
* [Counties of England circa 1800](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historic_counties_of_England)  
* [Stuff about London](https://www.britannica.com/place/Greater-London) (this helped me choose a location for the story)  
* [Men's fashion](https://www.kristenkoster.com/a-primer-on-regency-era-mens-fashion/)  
* [Women's fashion](https://www.kristenkoster.com/a-primer-on-regency-era-womens-fashion/)  
* [Meals in the 1800s](http://umich.edu/~ece/student_projects/food/rules.htm)  
* [The British Royal Marines](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Marines)  
* [British Navy circa 1800](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Navy_ranks,_rates,_and_uniforms_of_the_18th_and_19th_centuries)  
* [Leeches in modern medicine](http://sciencenetlinks.com/science-news/science-updates/modern-leeching/)  
* [Leech usage in history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloodletting)  
* [Natural Antibiotics](https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321108.php) (Ducky's ginger honey tea to fight Tony's infected wound)  
* [French Dog Commands](https://www.mndogtraining.com/dogcommands-french.php)
> 
> (more notes below - I ran out of space here!)

**Author's Note:**

> (continued from the final chapter end notes)
> 
> This story fulfills [Challenge 26 - Regency AU](https://whatif-au.livejournal.com/69644.html) from the [What If AU](https://whatif-au.livejournal.com/) community over on LiveJournal, and it also fulfills Prompt 4 (Write an AU where your characters meet for the first time in an exotic/unusual locale) of the [5 Prompts Challenge - March 2019](https://ncis-discuss.livejournal.com/190879.html) also on LJ.
> 
> I wanted to pimp some challenges here, because I know you all want to participate and write stories or make artwork for these!  
* The [NCIS 2019 Happy Holidays Challenge](https://ncis-discuss.livejournal.com/209202.html) is a no-stress affair. The mod has generated the 2019 themes (click on the link to view them) and the corresponding day your story or artwork should be posted. There are no minimums and no requirements, no need to sign up.  
* The [NCIS Secret Santa](https://ncis-sesa.livejournal.com/) hasn’t been kicked off yet. Signups will be in October. This is always fun, giving each other stories anonymously. Always fun to guess who wrote what!  
Come join in the fun with us!
> 
> And finally, thank you so much for reading this story and for all your lovely comments/kudos/bookmarks. You guys are the absolute best!!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️ I’ll see you all next month when we post the NCIS Big Bang stories. I have one story coming out in that challenge.  
> 
> Bye y’alls!  
-j  
xoxo


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